Someone Completely
by bridgie797
Summary: He had all the attention he could want.  He was the East High Golden Boy, after all.  She was the shy girl.  She was the only one who refused to fawn at his approach.  He needed someone to love completely.  She needed someone to want her without abandon.
1. Chapter 1

He was desperate. What you might ask was he desperate for? The only response he could have given you was, _love_. Everyone enjoys being liked. No one truly wants to be hated. Acceptance can be craved the same way chocolate and sex can be. None the less, it wasn't acceptance or adoration that he craved. _I'd give anything for someone to simply love without restraint._

"Dude, Julie is totally eyeing you, again." Chad leaned back against the locker next to Troy's as he nodded to a few girls passing. As Troy busied himself with obtaining his morning books, he shook his head at Chad who was still busy admiring the young girls that had just passed them. Troy could still hear them giggling farther down the hallway.

"You're incorrigible, man," Troy chuckled.

Chad just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "God, Troy, you know I hate it when you use those big words! You sound like my mom."

Troy continued his chuckled as he closed his locker and began the short journey to homeroom with his best friend right behind him. They both strolled into the room, now conversing about the basketball game last night. They easily slid into their desks. Troy sat on top of his turned backwards to face Chad who sat slouched in his seat.

Taylor and Gabriella walked into the room. Taylor had her customary hard look on her face as she tried yet again to drive home her point about the decathalon team practices to Gabriella. She turned when she heard Chad's sneer about them and their "team." She spun to look him in the eye, "Just because we use our brain does not mean that there is not (a) a team effort, and (b) a winner and a loser, jock-boy." She knocked Chad's basketball from beneath its usual place beneath his arm.

Chad glared at her. "Don't start with me, McKessie."

Taylor rolled her eyes, but stood up and walked away from him none the less.

Gabriella had stood to the side the whole time. Her eyes had met Troy's briefly in a silent apology for Taylor's reaction. Troy had just as quietly smiled his understanding that Gabriella couldn't control her best friend any better than he could control his best friend. Finally as Taylor had begun to pull Gabriella across the room to their usual seats, Troy had looked back over to Chad.

He was trying desperately to reign in his thoughts as they wildly spun to places he was sure Gabriella Montez would never let him, or any guy, go any time soon. He felt Ms. Darbus' wand before he heard her admonish him. "Mr. Bolton, perhaps you could pretend as though you had some positive socialization that had ingrained the proper way in which to sit in a seat."

Troy rolled his eyes and spun and dropped into his chair. "Sure, Ms. Darbus. I wouldn't want to disappoint you, now would I?"

"Certainly not." Ms. Darbus continued on up to her throne and proceeded to bore them all to near tears for the next forty minutes. Finally the bell rang and Troy bolted for the door without thinking. He had to get out of this room and just be anywhere else.

Before he could catch himself, he slammed into none other than Gabriella Montez. He felt his hands reflexively close around her to keep her from falling. But, he was a moment too late and they tumbled to the ground together. Troy rolled to the side of her. "Oh my God, I am so sorry. Gabriella? Are you alright?"

Most of the class laughed around them. Troy had even cracked a smile once she'd nodded that she was alright. Everyone else filed out except Chad. Troy and Chad collected up both Troy's and Gabriella's books. Chad shrugged as he handed the pile to Troy, "Gotta go or I'll be late. See ya."

Troy nodded and took the books, setting them on a nearby desk. He turned to help Gabriella up, "Sure, dude. See ya."

Troy extended his hands, "Can I help you up?"

Gabriella knew that she just had to be seven shades of red. "No." She shook her head as she tried to get up gracefully. Graceful just wasn't in the cards today. That was made readily evident by her landing once again on her butt. She grunted as she landed. "Ouch."

Troy smiled and leaned down over her ankle. He'd seen her foot twist and knew it had to be hurting her by now. He lightly ran his fingers over it. It was beginning to swell already. Still, even with her hurt, he had to take a deep breath to keep from focusing on how good her skin felt beneath his fingers. "I, uh—"

She ducked her head for a second to regain her composure. Other students were beginning to trickle in for Darbus' next class. Suddenly, Gabriella felt her body being grasped and lifted into the air. She squeaked out in surprise. She looked up and saw Troy smiling, "I'm taking you to the nurse's office. I promise."

Gabriella nodded, "What about our books?"

Troy chuckled, "A really hot guy just swept you off your feet, Montez. Forget about the books for a few minutes, will ya?"

She rolled her eyes, "Look, I know you're used to the cheerleaders fawning at your approach, much less your every word, but I care about my books. I care about what I can learn from them. Hell, I care about what they can't teach me, too. So, put me down and let me get my books. I'll make it to the nurse's station on my own. Besides, you're giving yourself a lot of credit if you think that I'd fall for that cockiness, Bolton."

Troy's smile widened. It was extremely rare that any girl didn't fawn in total adoration of him when he approached. Hell, it was almost impossible for him to talk to a member of the opposite sex in this town or any town nearby without being drooled over. He really got tired of it sometimes. Still, he figured Zac Efron had it considerably worse. That guy probably couldn't go anywhere. He shook his head as he realized she had sorted her books from his and was trying to hobble toward the door. He grabbed his stuff and spun to catch her as she began to lean too far. "Let me help you."

She sighed and glanced at him. "Yeah, okay. I guess. You did do this to me after all."

Troy laughed, "Did not. You did this to yourself. Why weren't you looking where you were going?"

She scoffed, "Like I would do this to myself, (a), and (b) I was looking until you charged for the door.""

He would've rubbed the back of his neck if he had a free hand. He had managed to wrap one arm securely around her body from the side. He had their books in the other hand. She was holding herself up against a wall. "Did I mention that I was sorry?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, Troy, you covered the apology already. It'll be fine. I just need an ice pack."

"Have you ever had a sprained ankle before?"

She laughed, "Several. Every time they make us run in gym class I'm bound to sprain something."

He laughed lightly. "Come to think of it, I remember my dad saying something about that."

She scoffed and mockingly said, "No say it isn't so! A gym teacher who discusses my complete lack of physical prowess?"

He chuckled to himself and pulled her tighter against his side. "You have plenty of physical prowess, Gabriella. You just lack the coordination to keep it upright."

She blushed, "Um, thanks. I think."

It was his turn to blush a little. He hated the heat he felt in his cheeks. "You're welcome."

She giggled. "I didn't think you'd know what prowess meant."

He glanced up at her eyes, "Yeah, well, I might be a jock, but I like to read too."

She flushed as their eyes stayed connected for a short moment. The bell rang for second period to begin just as they got to the nurse's station. He got her sat down. "I gotta go."

She nodded, but still looked away. She just knew that if she looked directly at his eyes that she'd turn seven shades of red and say something stupid.

Troy took that moment to rub the back of his neck. He wanted an excuse to stay with her. "Um, yeah. I hope its not too bad."

Gabriella shook her head, but refused to look up at him.

Troy rolled his eyes, "I really am sorry."

She nodded. Then as he moved away she felt the separation create an emptiness that she wished he'd return to fill.

"I'll see you around." He turned around and headed for the door. He glanced back once, but she was still looking toward the wall. He sighed and headed for his next class.

Gabriella sat waiting for the nurse to turn up. _God, Gabriella. He would never be able to take you as you are. Just let this feeling go away. _


	2. Chemistry

Someone Completely – Chapter 2 – Chemistry

Gabriella hobbled toward Chemistry. She was dreading it. She had actually tried to get the nurse to let her stay in the office to skip this class. As a rule, Gabriella did not miss class unless she literally couldn't walk. But, today she had decided there was another reason that should be considered a legitimately excused absence, heart break. She knew if she walked in to the lab and met his eyes and they were showing anything other than cruelty, she'd be heartbroken by lunch. Her lunch just so happened to be immediately after Chemistry. _It's not like I'm always begging to skip class in the nurse's station. Why couldn't I have stayed one period longer?_

"Gabriella! Oh my God, look at that thing!" Sharpay was horrified by the air cast that Gabriella was now sporting on her left ankle. The sprain turned out to be bad enough that she only felt steady enough with the silly looking thing there.

"Sharpay, it's really not that bad."

Sharpay's eyes traveled slowly up her body and froze at Gabriella's eyes. Her expression showed horror and shock and utter disbelief that Gabriella could say that the terrible plastic accessory was _not that bad_. "Shut your mouth."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Come on, Shar. I'd really like to sit down, even if it is a stool without a back."

Sharpay hopped, yes, actually hopped up. "Certainly. We're sitting over there. We're sharing a lab table with Taylor and Chad and Zeke and Troy."

Gabriella had looked to where she was pointing as Sharpay had said the one name that was going to make her heart skip a beat. _Get it together, Montez!_ She sighed and pulled her eyes away from Troy. "Uh, why are they at our table? And since when does Taylor 'work with' Chad on anything? Does Mr. Graves want them to burn the building down while they fight?"

Sharpay chuckled and rolled her eyes in an extremely feminine way. "No, silly. Of course not. Chad was the last into class, except for you. So, Mr. Graves said as punishment that he had to be paired with Taylor. And, Zeke and Troy just wanted to hear the torture, so…"

Gabriella sighed heavily. Great, just what she needed.

Troy was nervous. Generally as a rule, Troy didn't get nervous. When it was time for a big game or a crucial shot, he somehow just shutout all the screaming and possibilities and focused intently on what is. Now, for some reason all his thoughts were about her and whether she was thinking about him right now. His stomach had started to turn. He was completely clueless as to what he should do.

Zeke looked up at Troy as he waited for Troy to add the magnesium to their solution. "Dude? You look like you just saw a ghost. What the hell?"

Troy glanced over at Zeke, "You know that this solution will puff with a mini explosion if we did this right?"

Zeke furrowed his brow. "Yeah, I know that Troy. So does everyone who was awake through Mr. Graves lecture."

Troy nodded, looked down and added the magnesium. Thankfully they got the pop, and poof, smoke filled the air around them. "Awesome!"

Zeke and Troy were laughing and enjoying the theatrics. Taylor was scowling at Chad and Gabriella and Sharpay were slowly edging away from the table. At least that's what everyone saw when the small bit of smoke cleared away.

Zeke gave Troy a high five as they continued to laugh and smile at their accomplishment. Troy glanced up around them and finally realized that everyone else at the table was a little caught off guard by the conclusion of their Chemistry lab procedure. "Oh, sorry guys." He exchanged a conspiratorially look with Zeke, "Guess we should have warned you that was going to happen." He flashed a cocky smile at the end of his statement, to which Zeke held up another hand for a subsequent high five.

"Yeah! That was awesome!" Zeke looked over as Mr. Graves finally made it over to their table.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, you get to do the not so fun part of cleaning it up." The older man nodded toward the set up, "Take your apparatus down and be sure to thoroughly clean each piece. Then you can sit at the desks and begin your write up. Since you're done so early, I'll expect it to be thorough and well-written."

Zeke and Troy both groaned. Zeke spoke up, "Why is it that when we do things right and we get done first, we have to do more work? Isn't the point of getting done…to be done, finished, completed?"

Troy chuckled and stated disassembling the glassware. "Try asking coach about that some time. He doesn't know the meaning of quit either."

It was Zeke's turn to chuckle, "No, it's not that I want to quit. What I'm saying is that we did all that was required. We completed the task. Why do we have to do more work now?"

Troy laughed, "According to coach, because that's the way life works." In a voice that was supposed to mock his father's, he said, "Everything leads to something else and we're responsible for keeping things moving along."

Most of the table laughed because they'd heard Coach Bolton say the same thing more than once. Gabriella, however, did not laugh. She liked the saying. It made sense to her. Maybe that was because she was accustomed to being the first to complete assignments, only to have teachers tell her to do something else, or teach someone else what she had all ready successfully completed. She'd considered this discussion long ago, without anyone her age around who might understand except Taylor. But, Taylor had always been ambitious. So, when Gabriella had brought it up with her, Taylor had been shocked that Gabriella wouldn't want the added responsibilities.

Troy looked at her slyly from the side. He didn't look directly at her. He was just wondering why she didn't laugh when everyone else did. He kept washing the chemistry stuff even as his mind was wondering about her.

Zeke was getting bored. He had kept trying to start conversations with Troy. He'd mentioned basketball and girls. But, so far, Troy seemed to be clueless and distracted. He obviously had his mind on something, but Zeke couldn't figure out what.

Gabriella shrieked and tried to jump backwards, but found herself on the floor. The whole room turned in time to see Gabriella and Sharpay's apparatus falling down around Gabriella. Mr. Graves had been across the room, but was instantly on his way back to their table, but Troy had been only two steps away from her and he easily reached Gabriella before Mr. Graves could. "Are you okay?"

Gabriella wanted to shake her head no. She wanted to sit there and just cry out of high levels of frustration and embarrassment. She was furious with herself and embarrassed for having to be saved by Troy for a second time today. "No, I'm fine. I'm not hurt any more than I was when I walked in the room."

Troy smiled. He saw the look of personal frustration. He knew that kind of feeling. When he was fighting to hit shots that he routinely had no problem with, he would give the same look. He leaned down and slipped his arms around her again picking her up bridal style. "That's twice today I've had to sweep you off your feet, Montez. You should really be more careful. A guy could get the idea that you're doing this on purpose just so he'll come and save you." He smiled with that look in his eye that told her he was half kidding and half curious.

She shook her head, "I promise you that has nothing to do with it. I'm just having a colossally bad day."

Troy nodded but had to bite his lower lip on the inside of his mouth to keep from saying that was too bad, because he was enjoying having an excuse to pick her up every few hours. _Damn I could get used to her in my arms._


	3. Perception

Someone Completely – Chapter 3 - Perception

She stood by her car. She'd left him a note in his locker to meet her there. Now he stood atop the grand staircase looking down at the gorgeous black curls flaring out as she paced back and forth while she waited for him. _Grow some balls and ask her out all ready! But, what if she says no and then Chad or Zeke find out? _Troy groaned to himself. Since Chemistry he'd thought about asking her out about a million times. None the less, he stayed at the top of the stairs because he wasn't sure if he should or not. _Come on, Bolton, put one foot in front of the other! You still have to get to practice!_

Gabriella nibbled furiously at her thumb nail. Biting her nails was something she'd done when she was a little girl. Now it seemed the terrible habit had made a return. She shook her head and moved her hand to the pocket of her jeans. She slipped her fingers into the pocket and just let her hands bend a little bit backwards there. "This is stupid. Arg," she mumbled to herself.

Troy approached gradually. He was smiling to himself now. He knew his amusement at her pacing and general lack of observation of her surroundings would not be as funny to her, so he tried to keep quiet. Still, the way she seemed to be fretting over whether or not he was coming to meet her was insanely cute. Finally he cleared his throat. "This seems like a really involved conversation you're having. Should I come back at another time?"

Gabriella froze in place. She felt a slight cold chill brush itself over her skin. "Oh my God, you didn't think I was a lunatic before, you have to think it now!" She blushed and tried to cover her face with her hands. She leaned back against the car so that she wouldn't fall again today.

Troy felt bad for her. "No, hey, don't do that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. It was just really cute to see that there really is someone else who mumbles to themselves when their concerned they've done something stupid. Because, seriously, I have a whole strip of my carpet that is completely bare at home."

Gabriella giggled.

"That's better. That's what I like to see. Show me that smile again."

She rolled her eyes, but glanced up at him anyway. She was still smiling, but she put a teasing, almost challenging edge to it. Basically, she was smirking the way she'd seen him do about a million times.

He liked that too. God, she could go from sweet and innocent to sexy and intriguing faster than he could go from smartass to charming. He laughed lightly at her very enticing stare. "Now see, that's just not the same look I remember telling you I liked." He reached forward and pushed her hair back behind one ear. He watched as her face softened a little as she contemplated what he was doing in her personal space. He smiled gently and took one more, small step closer to her. He was within an inch of her now. "That's better. So tell me," he felt his nose brush over the left side of her forehead as he continued to move in and wrap his arms around her so that he could whisper into her ear, "what was it that was so urgent that you needed me? Are you planning to fall down and need a knight in shining armor, Gabriella?" He smiled to himself as he felt her shudder because of his attentions.

"No. No falling." She managed. The feel of him so close and his breath on her ear and her skin in general left her feeling as though she was going to melt away. She truly couldn't imagine what would happen if he kissed her.

Troy let just the tip of his nose brush along her skin. He'd always wanted to do this, but the one and only time he'd ever tried the girl started asking what he was doing like it was weird or something. So, he'd stopped then. Now, it just felt right. She seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was. He'd trail his nose along her skin from her forehead to her ear and his breath would flow over her skin immediately after his nose passed over it.

He smiled as he heard her very short answer. "So tell me," he whispered very quietly into her ear again, "what is it that you need me for, Gabriella?"

She felt an involuntary sigh escape her lips. "Oh God, that feels so good."

Troy felt his smile intensify. She was so out of it just from him nuzzling her skin that she had forgotten the point of their conversation. He loved the way she was responding to him. He'd felt her hands clinch the material at the sides of his shirt. She was breathing heavily and leaning just slightly forward against him now, so he traced his fingertips very lightly over every exposed piece of flesh he could find around the small spaghetti strap top she wore with her tight jeans. "Gabriella?"

She cuddled her forehead against his shoulder, "Yeah?"

"What did you want from me? You left me a note saying to meet you here?"

Gabriella suddenly stilled and held her breath for a moment. She cleared her throat and stood up straighter. She was now looking up just slightly into the beautiful baby blues. _Don't get lost. Don't get lost. Don't get…Don't…GABRIELLA! _She sighed audibly. _Thank him and go!_ She cleared her throat again. "Right, no, I just—I wanted to say think you—I mean thank you for all your help today. I mean my day could have been an epic tragedy if you hadn't have provided the knight in shining armor throughout the various episodes of personal misery."

He smiled down at her beautiful chocolate eyes. "I'm glad I could help. Anytime you need a knight in shining armor, well I'll need to get mine buffed up after all the work I've done in it today, but I'd be happy to sweep—"

There was a throat being cleared behind Troy. "Excuse me?"

Troy turned to see a former football player for East High. He knew of the guy. He was up at Ohio State now playing in college. "Hey, Jarvis. How's it goin' man? Listen I was just talking to my—"

"She's _**my**_ girl, Bolton. And don't forget that when I go back to Ohio State either. Keep your little high school hands off of her."

Gabriella was completely embarrassed. "Oh, right. I'm so sorry. I forgot that you were coming to pick me up today!"

Troy's eyebrows rose as she stepped past him and brushed a very quick, light kiss against Jarvis' cheek.

She turned back to Troy. "So, basically I just wanted to say thanks again for helping me out today. I probably would've ended up doing serious damage to myself if you hadn't." She was talking faster now like she did when she was nervous. "And, I just really wanted to say thank you, 'cause you really didn't have to do anything."

Troy felt his stomach drop. She was taken? Really? He felt his disappointment showing, so he glanced away quickly before looking at Jarvis' hand draped causally across her shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Don't mention it." She took a breath to say something and he held up a hand, "Seriously…don't mention it." He turned and started back toward the school. He still had practice. He sighed as he tried to figure out why she hadn't just told him at some point. Instead, he'd made a fool out of himself all day. He glanced back over his shoulder to see her standing there giving Jarvis a lecture.

"Oh my God! Why did you do that? He probably thinks you meant it like we're together or something! I love that you've really taken on the older brother role since mom and dad got married, but come on!"

Jarvis was just laughing at her, "He was all but feeling you up right here. If dad had been the one to happen upon you two, he'd be furious with Troy. At least I left his face intact!"

Gabriella fumed, "I'm leaving. You can follow me to the new house, or you can drive around like an idiot...I **really** don't care which!" She stomped over to her car and got in after rather viciously throwing her bag into the passenger's seat. _God! Troy was—Why did mom have to marry Jarvis' dad? Why did he have to show up now?_ She sighed, shook her head, and started the car before driving away with Jarvis' car following close behind her.


	4. Hackery

Someone Completely – Ch. 4 – Hackery

She walked into homeroom with Taylor as always. She thought she had covertly glanced over toward where Chad and Troy were talking but, Troy nodded to her. His expression was just as neutral as it had always been. She nodded back to him. _Well I guess that 24 hours is over. _She sighed and settled herself in for a regular day here at East High. _So much for my knight in shining armor._

Ms. Darbus came in and shooed Troy from the top of his desk into his chair. Then she chastised Chad for bringing a ball into her sanctuary of knowledge of the theatrical arts. Nearly the whole class groaned or rolled their eyes and class was off and running as usual.

Gabriella switched the books out. She gathered her lit books and got out her copy of Othello. Then she heard Chad at nearly the other end of the hallway. Just like everyone else she turned and looked at the commotion.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS? WHY?" Chad was red in the face and his eyes looked like they were going to spring out of his head. "TROY!"

Troy turned. He glanced around at everyone. He finally looked at Chad, "Look I get that there's some-"

"DON'T YOU PATRONIZE ME! THIS IS ABOUT SOME GIRL, ISN'T IT? WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON, DUDE?"

Troy furrowed his brow. "If you would quit screaming, maybe I would!"

Chad stepped to the side just as the bell rang. Troy yanked Chad over the rest of the way to the side of the hallway as everyone rushed off to their respective classrooms. Troy said something sternly and then walked off stiffly.

Gabriella watched silently. She jumped about a mile when the bell sounded and broke her revere. She was late…but she was **never** late! Gabriella grabbed her backpack and ran for Mr. Knaper's room.

Troy stormed into the room. He dropped into his chair.

Chad flew in behind him and settled into his own desk. He leaned forward and whispered, "So, you're faking everybody out? Even your own team?"

"Dude, we're supposed to be fighting. Shut up," Troy forcefully whispered back. He pulled out his cell phone and sent Chad a text. U R gonna ruin the ruse, man.

Chad jumped when his phone vibrated in his pocket. What the hell is a ruse, dude?

Troy rolled his eyes and put his phone in his pocket after sending, the trick!

The sub walked up to the front of the room as the bell rang. "Class, Class, please take your seats. I'm Mrs. Jarvis and I'll be subbing for Mr. Weber today. He left lesson plans for today. You are supposed to open your books to Chapter 3 and read through the section titled, 'What is Sociology?' When you're done, we have two activities to complete. And before anyone gets it—"

"Aren't you Gabriella's mom?" A red headed girl in the back said loudly.

Mrs. Jarvis stopped briefly, then she replied, "Yes, I am, but today I am your sub. Shall we continue?"

The girl chuckled, "So, is she like dating her brother?"

Maria stopped and looked at the young woman, "The only brother she has is Michael Jarvis, whom I'm sure you all know from his years here at East High. I can assure you she is not dating her stepbrother. Now, there is a catch to the reading. If you as a class do not complete today's activities, you will lose your homework points for today. I have everything ready. You'll want to be done reading by quarter after. Enjoy!" Mrs. Maria Jarvis smiled before returning to the desk chair and her book.

Troy sat dumbfounded. Mrs. Jarvis, a.k.a. Michael Jarvis's stepmom and Gabriella's mom, had just said that she wasn't actually dating that fool. _No way! They're really not together! Wait, why would she pretend to be dating her stepbrother? God, did she really want me to leave her alone that bad? I'm not creepy! WTF!_ But Troy's mind floated over their encounters the day before and each time she had swooned a little, but not much before she'd begun pushing him away. Of course, he hadn't given her much of a chance to push him away until Jarvis had shown up and she had played along with what Jarvis had said. Maybe she really was trying to find some nice girl way to let him down easy.

Troy sighed and then actually opened his book to read some. Reading always took his mind of things. Of course, nothing worked better than basketball when he was really upset.

* * *

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She hated when her mother subbed at the school she was attending. Since her new dad made more than enough to cover their bills, Gabriella's mom had returned to her first love of teaching instead of the stupid textbook sales that had made her so much money and sent them all over the country over the years.

Gabriella sighed for the umpteenth time this class period. She looked up at the clock and swore it had not moved an inch. She dropped her head down onto her arms as she felt as if every second were torture. She'd finished the assigned reading and work, as well as her homework halfway through their "quiet time" as Mr. Knaper called it. Essentially she was done with Othello and had already begun outlining her paper, not to mention having already gone through and chosen the quotes she knew she wanted to include in her discussion of the topic.

She was just waiting for this class to be over when she got a text, y didn't u tell me u r dating ur bro?

Gabriella looked at the screen confused. Why would Taylor think she's dating—_Oh God!_ She hurriedly typed back. I'm not! Where did u hear that?

Taylor's text back took a few seconds which had Gabriella sitting on the edge of her seat. It's on the school website. Somebody hacked it and put up a pic of u & ur new bro!

Gabriella felt her stomach flip. She looked around and wondered who else had seen that. She wasn't dating Jarvis. She was going to kill him! Then she thought about Troy. Surely, he wouldn't do this. Right? She felt her stomach drop as she wondered, but she couldn't rule him out. Not really.

* * *

Troy frowned when he heard the girls in the back start whispering to each other excitedly. Then he saw one girl handing her iPhone to the girl next to her and they tried to cover up their shared laugh over something on the screen. Troy glanced at Mrs. Jarvis before he turned around and gave them one the looks that always got him his way with any girl he seemed to talk to…except Gabriella, of course. He whispered, "What's so funny?"

One of the girls showed him the school's webpage. It had a great big picture of Gabriella with Jarvis in the parking lot with his arm draped over her shoulders. Troy felt his stomach flip. Along the bottom of the picture it said, "Incest just fucking sucks!"

Troy just looked at it for a minute. He had so many emotions floating around inside of him right now. And that didn't even compare to the number of thoughts running marathons through his head. Things like, did she know about this yet? Had anyone said anything to her yet? Who did this? Why had they done this? What was she going to do? Then he looked up at the girl and said, "Hey Mrs. Jarvis, have you seen the school's new website?" He stood up and walked across the room to the teacher's desk. He dropped the phone on it.

Gabriella's mom looked up at him. "What's this?"

Troy frowned, "Some idiot's idea of a prank." He glanced over his shoulder at the girl.

Mrs. Jarvis saw the picture and caption. "Oh." She wasn't even sure where to begin to deal with this, as a teacher or a mother/stepmother.

"Tattletale," someone whispered.

Troy rolled his eyes, "You do understand the incest requires a blood relationship, right? Mrs. Jarvis already told us their step siblings you moron. So, even if they were dating…it's still not incest."

But then Troy got a surprise he'd never considered. Chad looked up, "Nah, but everybody's gonna think so now, huh? Guess you couldn't even steal her from her brother. Looks like you've lost your mojo, Captain. Or, should I say, loser?" Chad smirked at him. Just then the bell rang and Chad smoothly got up and walked out of the room as everyone else began to chatter amongst themselves and whisper about Troy and Chad's exchange.

_Oh my God, what just happened? It's supposed to be a pretend fight! Shit! Did Chad post this because he's pissed at me?_


	5. Dashing

Someone Completely – Chapter 5 – Dashing

Troy walked to his locker just before lunch. _Oh, God, what the hell did I do? Chad's really pissed at me. Gabriella wants nothing to do with me. My dad can't even look me in the eye. What happened? Everything was fine until after school yesterday!_ Troy sighed and dropped his books off.

_Oh my God, the one time I actually, really honestly need him to save me, and I blew it! Why didn't I just tell Troy yesterday that Jarvis is my stepbrother? I should have just kissed Troy!_ Gabriella felt like crying. She was miserable. She wouldn't cry. She'd find a way to get through the day and then this evening she'd lock herself in her room and cry and read sad novels.

She stood in the lunchroom and took a deep breath. _I wish he could save me, but I don't even know that it isn't him I need to be safe from! _Everyone whispered, but she was convinced that she wouldn't show them that she cared. _Oh, how I hate people's need to gossip! _ She kept telling herself that it didn't matter. She kept thinking that no one really knew anything. They were just jumping to conclusions to make this exciting. Still, she couldn't shake the anger that was building every time she overheard someone else's opinion or someone giving her a snide remark in the hallway.

Now, she was walking to the nearest empty table, because Taylor didn't have lunch this hour and she wasn't in the mood to discuss the latest gossip with Sharpay today. As she settled in and got out her book to read, she heard a voice, a male voice, **his** male voice. "Excuse me?" She asked.

"I said…Can I sit here? I guess since I don't play basketball anymore, then my so called friends don't want anything to do with me." He said just loud enough for the next table over to hear.

Zeke started to get up, but Chad grabbed a hold on his forearm. "Nah, you don't want to be a nerd like him, do you?" Zeke sighed looked over at Troy and resignedly sat back down.

Troy looked down at Gabriella. "So, can I sit?"

Gabriella swallowed hard and nodded, "Uh, yeah…sure."

Troy smiled what he hoped was a charming smile. "Thanks." He knew it didn't go up to his eyes like his grins usually did. He just couldn't get a grip on today. He'd thought his scheme was great this morning…then everything had just gotten out of control and now he wasn't so sure.

He sat down next to her and all she could smell was his cologne. She wanted to get closer just so she could smell his scent mixed with the perfect cologne. She felt her eyes drift closed a little as she caught another whiff of him. _God, I could lie on his chest and just revel in the smell of him for days._ She felt him touch her forearm and it scared her. She sat up suddenly, "Uh, I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

He chuckled, "Must be a **really** good book."

Gabriella looked down confused and then tried to smile convincingly, "Oh, yeah, it's great. I love the scent—I mean I love the scene she's describing here."

Troy raised his eyebrows. He'd caught the gaff in her comment. He was curious again, "So what's happening?"

Gabriella looked around them. "What do you mean? I don't see anything?"

Troy laughed, "In the book, Gabriella. What's happening in the **scene** that you like so much?" He was enjoying this way too much. He knew she didn't want to be with him. She'd made that incredibly apparent by pretending to be "with" her stepbrother last night just to get him to back off. Still, she had the best smile he'd ever seen.

Gabriella felt like the biggest idiot in the room. She honestly couldn't remember for the life of her what was happening in the book she'd been consumed in a few moments ago. "Uh, well…"

Troy opened the book to where her finger had been keeping the place and moved her hand down to the bench between them. "Let's see…okay," he read from the book to her in his best movie voice, "he settled a hand on her back and led her into the ballroom. There were flowers everywhere. The sculptors had created whole new pieces of art just for the occasion and they'd been displayed between the ceiling-to-floor windows along the walls of the great oval room." He looked down at Gabriella, "Nice, a little girly, but nice none the less. I can see why you like it."

Gabriella looked up at him with only one eyebrow raised, "A little girly? That wasn't a little girly, Troy. That was a lot girly. And, why did you read it like that? Are you making fun of my book?"

Troy's eyes widened. "No, I was serious. I get that you would like that!"

She narrowed her eyes and her voice got just a little bit louder and her words a bit sharper, "Why because I like sweet scenes? What's so wrong with that? So, I like girly books and sweet romance novels! Who cares?"

Troy couldn't figure out where any of that had come from. Still, he was getting a little pissed. All he'd done was try to compliment her. He was trying to connect with her. He just wanted something to talk about that had nothing to do with the gossip around school today. He'd incorrectly assumed she'd go along with his topic of conversation because she liked the book and probably wanted to talk about gossip even less than he did. So, out of frustration he shouted back, "APPARENTLY YOU DO! God! I was just trying to start a conversation, Gabriella!"

Now, she was pissed. There was no way she was going to let him yell at her. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

Unfortunately, Chad chose this moment to butt in, "Well, he's definitely not your brother, so you won't be kissing and having make up sex!"

Troy whipped around, "LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE! SHE DID NOTHING TO YOU! IF YOU'RE PISSED, BE PISSED OFF AT ME!"

Gabriella sat stunned. Chad's comment had hurt, but what had confused her was Troy's defense. She'd been getting little remarks from people ever since second period. No one had stuck up for her yet, not even Taylor. Taylor had just told her to brush it off. That she was smarter than all these idiots anyway.

But, Troy, he had just defended her against his best friend. Granted, he and his best friend were fighting right now, but still. He'd defended her when he didn't have to. _He didn't leave me to fight everyone alone._

Gabriella was stunned as the realization washed over her. Just as the idea began to form words she realized that Troy and Chad were standing up in each other's faces now. She looked up with understanding of the situation forming around her as she heard students crowding around and a few teachers or school workers beginning to shout about breaking it up. Gabriella stood up and in an incredibly rash decision shoved her way between the two boys. She reached up and planted an incredibly deep kiss to Troy's lips.

If you would have asked her why she did that, she wouldn't have been able to answer you. She had just reacted without thought. She couldn't figure out when she had closed her eyes or wound her hands around Troy's neck. She was even more clueless as to when his arms had wrapped securely around her body.

When she opened her eyes, to her astonishment, everyone was quiet. Chad had moved back a few steps and the crowd wasn't moving anymore. However, as she regained her normal senses, she heard the teachers still moving toward them. She felt her stomach drop and she started to panic a little as she felt Troy clutch her closer. "We should go…like now." Troy smiled and grasped her hand.

Gabriella smiled and grabbed her book in her other hand and pulled Troy out of the cafeteria just as the teachers were making their way into the small bubble created by the observing crowds.


	6. Refuge

Someone Completely – Chapter 6 – Refuge

Troy laughed as they dashed through the halls. He couldn't believe what was happening. He twisted around just a little bit and from where he was behind her, he could tell that none of the teachers had followed them. He laughed again and stopped, effectively pulling her back and stopping her as well. He bent down and started to try and catch his breath. "Oh my God…what the hell was that, Montez?" He joked and smiled up at her from where he was bent over with his hands against his knees.

She was laughing and breathing hard as well. "I have no idea." She said with a huge smile. "Insanity?" She ventured a guess.

Troy grinned wider and stood up and pulled her toward him as he leaned back against the wall in the hallway outside the old gym. "Well, feel free to lose your mind any time you like." He said in a slightly husky, but still out-of-breath voice.

Gabriella still smiling wrapped her arms around his neck in a much needed hug. "Today has been awful. People have been talking and staring and laughing. I lost it when you were just trying to talk to me. I'm sorry." She leaned back in his arms. She looked at him with a sad smile on her face, but brighter eyes. "I guess I just needed to act insanely to deal with it all."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, too. I guess I kind of caused all of this. If I'd just backed off like you'd wanted me to yesterday none of this would be happening."

She looked at him with confusion in her eyes as her fingers began gently rubbing along the small hairs at the nape of his neck in a comforting gesture. "What do you mean?"

His head dropped so that his chin was now against his chest. He sighed, "That feels so good."

She waited, but kept rubbing his skin through his hair.

After a few moments he said, "You kept telling me yesterday that you didn't want any of my…my…attention. But, I'm a guy and I totally didn't understand that you don't want me. So, I kept trying. I kept looking for excuses to wrap my arms around you and then at your car, I really didn't even give you a chance to say no, or back me off. I just kind of took advantage and I know better. I really do. I was just so caught up in you that I wasn't thinking anymore. I was just feeling and God what a feeling. I was…I was…" He sighed heavily. "I just made everything worse." He leaned his forehead against her shoulder. He softly said, "I'm sorry." He went quiet. He felt as though he'd purged some things that he shouldn't have. He'd left himself vulnerable to her again. He was kicking himself already. He was apologizing for not leaving her alone while simultaneously holding her to him and leaning on her shoulder. Then he felt her hands pressing against the skin under his chin.

"Look at me, Troy."

He closed his eyes, raised his head and slowly, he opened his eyes again. He was afraid of what he was going to see.

Gabriella stood in front of him with a compassionate smile. "Listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong yesterday. I'm just…" It was her turn to sigh. "I'm just not sure about this kind of thing right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not like a lesbian or anything. I just don't know you very well and I don't know what I do and don't want to get into before the end of the year. I'm not exactly planning on staying in New Mexico."

He nodded, "No, I get it. I'm not sure if I will or not."

She looked at him. "What are your plans?"

His lips curved into a smile and his eyes cleared away some of the clouds they'd been holding on to, "Plans? You say that like I have any idea what's going to happen in the next six months."

She furrowed her brow. "You're not planning on what university you want to go to?"

He rolled his eyes, "It's been crazy. That's part of the reason that I quit the team this morning. I can't take the pressure anymore."

Gabriella stood silently looking at Troy with wide eyes.

Troy frowned. "I figured everyone would be upset, but I didn't really think it would be this bad." He rolled his eyes. "Chad's going off the deep end and he's taking the team and turning them all against me. And, then there's my dad. He doesn't understand what I'm trying to do. I just want to take a few days to just sort things out. There are so many people who want things from me right now. I need time to think."

She nodded. As he finished his explanation, she leaned forward and rested her head against his shoulder and chest. She felt his arms wrap closer around her. "I get it. All these schools want me to meet with their representatives because of my SAT scores and my grades. I just want to tell them all to go away. I know where I want to go to college."

Troy sighed, "I wish I knew where I wanted to go. My dad is so caught up on me going to U of A because it's cheaper. Then there are all these other schools like UCLA and UC Berkeley, and some schools out in Illinois and Ohio and North Carolina. I don't really want to move across the country though."

She leaned back and smiled at him sweetly. She brought up one index finger and placed it over his lips. "Shh…"

He closed his mouth and softly kissed her finger.

She giggled.

Her smiled eased something in his chest and he found himself smiling like an idiot. Then, because he wanted to see her laugh, he stuck his tongue out and licked her finger.

She jumped and laughed and gave him a scrunched up face and said, "Ewww!" She leaned back and playfully acted disgusted.

He stepped back up to her and pulled her back against him, "Aw, come on, you know you want me to lick—"

A throat cleared behind them. Troy let out a frustrated sigh. _Why is it that every time I get her here where I want her, someone has to clear their throat and ruin a perfectly good moment?_ He growled, "What?"

Gabriella was a little startled by his response. She glanced at him again before giving Mr. Bolton an embarrassed smile. "Uh hello, Mr. Bolton."

Jack tried very hard not to glare at the girl he suspected had pushed his son to a very wrong decision. "Ms. Montez."

Troy placed a quick kiss to her forehead before he turned himself to face his dad. He kept one arm wrapped around her waist. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that he had lost her in a very similar situation yesterday. He wasn't going to let that happen again. "Dad."

"It's Coach Bolton when we're in school, Troy."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Sure, dad, whatever."

"You may have quit the basketball team this morning, but that doesn't mean that I will allow you to be disrespectful. You need to watch the PDA as well. There are much younger students walking through these hallways and they do not need to see your displays. Besides, I'm not sure how much thinking you can do about your future when you're spending every free minute with a girl."

Troy was annoyed with his dad's irritation, but his snide remark about Gabriella was too far. "She's helped more in the last ten minutes than you have in the last ten months. I don't give a crap if you like how I spend every free minute or not. I'll spend every minute I have with whomever I want. You don't get to choose who I date!"

Gabriella felt that feeling in the pit of her stomach well up again. For the second time in an hour he was defending her. His dad had every right to be suspicious of her since she had shown up around Troy right around the same time that he quit the one thing that everyone had been sure was what he loved most. She cleared her throat softly, "Uh, sir, I promise you that we've been talking about colleges and future plans. Troy's just not as clear about his future as I am about mine. He was asking some questions about how I made my decisions. I assure you, Coach Bolton, he is thinking."

Jack's frown deepened. "I hope that he is, Ms. Montez, because as of this morning he's severely limited his options." Jack glanced back at his son, turned around, and walked away.

Troy pulled her back into his arms as he collapsed against the wall again. "I hate it when he does that shit. Why can't he just let me figure things out for myself? Maybe I don't want his life!"

Gabriella just looked at him, "How can I help?"

He stopped and looked at her. "How did you make your decisions?"

Gabriella took a good breath, but he interrupted her.

"Wait, let's go somewhere more comfortable."

She laughed, "I'm not climbing into the back of your truck, Troy."

He stopped and looked at her, "Really? You wouldn't just give me what I want right this instant? I'm so shocked."

She smiled and said, "You want me like that right now?"

He saw the sweet, but a little bit excited look in her eyes, so he turned to her again and looked her in the eyes. "Baby, I'm a guy. I want every good looking girl my eyes land on." He saw the sadness beginning to fill her eyes. "But, you make me feel like I want to ravage your body in ways that I know you would never let me do. Still, it doesn't stop me from wanting to strip you and do all kinds of creative things."

She smirked teasingly, "Really?"

"Oh yeah." As if to emphasize his point, he pulled her back against his body and pulled her hand down to his physical proof.

She blushed, but didn't pull away.

He was surprised that she hadn't jerked back. That wasn't the kind of move he would have ever expected to get away with, not with Gabriella Montez anyway.

She was contemplating something she'd never tried before, when her mother came into view over his shoulder. She gasped and jerked back.

Troy looked down at her confused at her sudden change in demeanor. "What's wrong, baby?"

She met his eyes and then looked back to her mother who was obviously furious and storming toward them.

Troy turned and followed her eyes to what she was now somewhat afraid of. He pulled away from her just a little, but felt her cling to him. She gripped his shirt and his hand tighter than she had before. Troy couldn't help but enjoy the fact that she was clinging to him.

Mrs. Jarvis looked directly at Gabriella, "Gabi, I am so disappointed in you! Why would you tell people that you and Michael are dating?"

"I didn't, mama."

Troy looked the older woman in the eye while she turned her glare toward him. "She was frustrated with me, Mrs. Jarvis. She didn't actually say they were together. Michael actually said it. But, it was my fault either way. I was pushing too hard to get Gabriella's attention."

Maria looked at the young man somewhat disapprovingly. "Why is she holding your hand now, then?"

Gabriella took a step slightly forward putting herself between her mother and Troy. She switched and grasped his right hand with her own right hand.

He brought his hand up over hers to her side.

"Because we worked things out, mama. You don't get to be mad at him. It wasn't his fault. All this started because Michael was playing the overprotective big brother in the only way he knew how. And everyone just added their own spin to it as the gossip spread."

"There wouldn't be gossip if you were behaving properly, Gabriella."

Troy actually laughed at that. "You're kidding, right? People will gossip whether there's reason to or not. She didn't do anything, drop it. Michael and I had a little standoff over her before I knew who he was to her. That's all. Get over it."

"You have no say in this—"

Gabriella spoke up, "What part of, you don't get to blame him for this didn't you get, mother? Quit treating him like dirt."

"You are bound for bigger things than this little school has to offer Gabriella. Sometimes that means not getting too attached to leave things behind."

"What you mean is leaving people behind! And after 23 schools in 11 ½ years, I think I'm really good at that!"

Maria shook her head, "You've always gotten too attached too quickly. You've always been upset with me when we had to leave. But it isn't my fault anymore, Gabriella. It's your life that's moving on, not mine."

Troy stood a little dumbfounded, _23 schools in 11 ½ years? How did she ever feel like she fit in anywhere? Did she still have friends at those schools? Were there old boyfriends that she never really broke up with?_

Troy pulled her back against him a little closer. They were going to fight this together. He realized he'd decided this somewhere in the back of his mind probably an hour ago. It didn't matter who was mad at them or why_, I'm not leaving her side. I'm not abandoning her now. God, I really like being her knight in shining armor._ He chuckled inside his head, but his face showed no change.

"She's not alone anymore. And, yeah, we're moving on to college later this year, but there's time between now and then and decisions still left to be made. I'm helping her as much as she is helping me. I know you're her mom and all, but leave her alone. Gabriella is doing an amazing job coping with all of this. And frankly, you blaming her because of a bunch of stupid teenagers are gossiping is completely ridiculous. I've lived with gossip mongers since I started junior high basketball. Trust me, they don't need anything real to run their mouths or make up stupid pictures."

Gabriella smiled up at him. He'd been defending her repeatedly, but he'd finally said it. 'She's not alone anymore.' She felt her heart leap again when his eyes came down to meet hers. She felt his hand tighten his hold on her just slightly. "Mama, I know what is looming in the future, but I have to survive in the meantime and Troy is helping me do that."

Maria obviously didn't like that, but she knew that when Gabriella decided to, she would go through with her decision come hell or high water. "Fine, but don't come crying to me about staying here, because it's not going to happen."

"Fine."

"And find out who put up that picture."

Gabriella shook her head, "I don't work here. You'll have to talk to the principal about that."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Like he can do anything. If this lunkhead is going to be your Prince Charming, he should be doing something about it."

Troy's eyebrows rose. "I can't save her—"

Gabriella cut him off, "It's not his job either. He doesn't work here either! Quit trying to make me responsible for other people's stupidity." She turned and pulled Troy behind her. As he caught up with her again, she said, "I don't feel like going to sixth. Do you know a good place to hide out?"

Troy cracked a half smile on his face that turned into a smirk. "Are you asking me to cut class with you, Gabriella?"

She gave him a teasing look. "Please? I really wanna—" She felt something hit her from behind.

Troy bent down and picked up the piece of paper and looked where it came from. He opened it up and saw a rather annoying scribble. Chad had written, "It's your girlfriend I should be pissed at. She's ruining your life, idiot!"

Troy growled and started off toward the corner the paper had come from. Once there though, he found no one. They'd long since vanished, but that didn't matter, because he knew that handwriting anywhere. He turned to see Gabriella reading the note.

She was frustrated and upset and Troy could tell that she needed more than thirty seconds between people attacking them. So, he walked back over and took her hand. "Come on, we're out of here for today. I don't know about you, but I need a break. And, I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone here."

Gabriella just nodded to him before he started to lead her away from the hallway that had once been their refuge. As the bell rang and the halls filled, Troy led her into the alcove in the entrance. As the bell rang again and people filed back into classrooms, Troy led her to his truck and they pulled out very soon thereafter.


	7. Dimensions

Someone Completely - Chapter 7 - Dimensions

Troy just drove for a little while. He thought about taking her home, but there was the possibility that his mom would be home. He could suggest they go to her house, but he had no idea if Michael was still in town. He drove past the park and thought there might be a chance that the loser guys who hung out there during the day would be there. He sighed, "Where the hell do people go at one o'clock in the afternoon?" He laughed lightly when he glanced over at Gabriella who was trying to hide a smile. "What? Do you know where we should go?" He glanced back at Gabriella quickly.

She started to be unable to hold back her laugh. "Well, there's lookout point."

Troy raised an eyebrow. He felt a mischievous smile slowly spread across his face. "Are you suggesting?" He noticed her biting her lower lip. It was incredibly sexy. It was innocent and flirty and he was dying to have his way with those lips. "Gabriella, you're still a virgin, aren't you?"

She looked out the passenger side window. "No."

Troy almost slammed on the brakes. "R-really?"

She sighed heavily. "Really."

Troy pulled off onto the dirt road that went back to make-out point. He slowed to a stop and put the truck in park. He looked out the windshield without actually seeing anything. "I—uh—"

She looked over at him a bit timidly, only to realize he was just as nervous. "Troy, just ask me what you want to ask me."

"Who?"

Gabriella hadn't expected that. "Uh, well, that's hard to answer."

He looked at her obviously confused. "What do you mean? Was it a hook up or something?"

She blushed fiercely. "Well he was drunk, but I just didn't know who he was."

Troy's mouth hung open. "Really? I was sure you'd never—much less something crazy like that."

She bit her lower lip. "Alright, before this goes anywhere else there are some things I should tell you."

Troy suddenly wondered what other secrets she might hold.

"I'm not as sweet and innocent as everyone at school believes. I do go to parties. I do have sex. I do drink until I'm so drunk I can't walk sometimes. I love to dance and by dance I mean grind my ass so hard against a guy that he doesn't need to go upstairs. I cuss. I even fight other girls on occasion."

Troy couldn't do anything but stare at her. He was speechless. "You're a bad girl? Come on Gabriella, I'm supposed to believe all that?"

She laughed. "Wow. I never thought that I would have to prove this to anyone." She grinned mischievously, "Hmm…proof?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

She got out of the truck, walked around to his door, pulled his door open and turned him so that his legs were facing her. She spread his legs open and pushed him back to lie on the bench seat.

He looked confused. "Gabriella?"

She smiled teasingly, "Shut up."

He watched as she pulled his favorite part of his body out of its confines. "Oh God, you're really gonna—" He dropped his head back as she took him into her mouth. "Oh God…Oh God!"

Gabriella felt devious. She felt daring and gutsy. She'd vowed her sophomore year to make sure that she always partied in other school districts, because inevitably when people from her school found out she was just as bad as she was good, they became cruel. She was determined that she'd never let anyone at East High know what she did when she was wound too tight and had to cut loose. Now here she was, being stupid, and gutsy, and hoping she wasn't blowing her secret on the wrong person.

He laid there trying to relax. He didn't want to explode too fast. Hell, now his mind was wandering all the other possibilities he could pursue with her. He'd fantasized about her off and on since she'd enrolled at East High. He'd thought she was a good girl to the extreme, but her expert abilities were obvious as she licked and sucked and stroked him to the edge. He felt her tongue slide down one side of his cock and come back up the other side of it. As she pulled back, he felt her fingers playing with his balls. "Oh, Gabriella…" He knew he was getting close to release, he just didn't know what she was going to do next.

She slipped her wet lips over his dick again. This time as she pulled up she actually slid completely off of him, then back on. She felt his balls clinching up tighter to prepare his release. She felt his hips beginning to jerk erratically. She caught him at just the right angle and felt him explode into her mouth. She swallowed several times. Then, she looked up at his closed eyes, "The people I party with just call me Gabs. Maybe when I'm being bad, you should too." She smiled as his eyes met hers.

"Anything you want."

"Anything?"

He nodded. "Anything to keep this side of you."

She grinned naughtily. "In that case, there's something I've always wanted to try. Can I trust you to not freak out?"


	8. Explosions

Someone Completely – Chapter 8 – Explosions

He couldn't believe his ears. She'd climbed on top of him in the seat and taken her top off. She had whispered into his ear what she wanted. Now, he was trying desperately to think of anything and everything that might do away with some of his building excitement.

He'd been trolling parties. He'd been fucking drunk girls for months, almost a year. What the hell had he been thinking? She was actually asking for what he'd never been able to get any of the "sluts" to agree to…the prude, sweet, adorable Gabriella was the bad girl he'd been looking for all along! "Really? That's what you want? Gabs, where the hell have you been all my life! Baby—Oh God—if that's what you want, you will be getting everything you want! Screw the make out spot. I'm taking us somewhere else. Get that sweet pussy back in my truck, baby, but this time, you better be right up against me, Gabs. I mean no one could get a piece of paper between us, got it?"

She bit her lower lip sheepishly, "Yeah, I think I got it. Good to know I have that kind of effect on you." She gestured toward his now somewhat sated dick.

He pulled her lips back to his. "You have no idea, honey."

She giggled, "Terms of endearment aren't something you use with any girl. Why me?"

His grin covered his whole face, "I'll explain on the way. Plus, you should get used to those, 'cause I am never letting you go."

She just smirked teasingly at him, "So, I'm your bitch?"

He chuckled, "You're mine. I don't think you're a bitch, but I definitely want you to be mine. I would be seriously pissed if some other guy got to do anything I'm going to do to you. I get that it's your body and all, but seriously, it would hurt." He had gotten serious. "I don't want you to think that I'm controlling. I'm just…I—"

She looked down at him from where he gently held her face above his. While his fingers massaged her scalp she said, "You want me all to yourself? Troy we've been flirting for like two days. You want us exclusive?"

He looked up at her. "Yes. Gabriella I've been looking for a girl who gets this. I've tried everyone I could think of, even girls I didn't really have any interest in. I never approached you because I thought you'd never let me, much less the fucking unbelievable feeling you just gave me."

She looked down into his eyes again. "Troy…"

He looked at her pleadingly. "Please, baby, I need to know that I can trust you before we…"

She rolled her lips together. "I've already given you something no other guy in Albuquerque has ever gotten from me. You have my secret about partying outside of the city with other people. If that's not enough trust in you, then I don't know what to say."

"Gabs, I brought you out here so that I could tell you that we didn't ever have to do anything. I was looking for a quiet place that we could talk without peers or teachers or parents. I didn't bring you here to lure this out of you."

"I never thought you did. I just thought if you were going to defend me all the time and maybe even actually want me, then you should know ahead of time what you were really getting into."

He smiled warmly. "You don't have to be afraid of losing me because of any of that. Part of you being mine and us being exclusive is that I am just as much yours. You see some girl hitting on me too much, feel free to whip her ass, baby. Hell if you want, I'll give you one of my basketball shirts with my name on it and I'll walk around in a t-shirt that says, 'Property of Gabriella Montez."

She laughed, "Ha, ha. I like to be crazy sometimes, but I'm not trying to brand you here."

He laughed too, "Thank you for that!"

She quieted down to a softer laugh and then it eventually faded off into quiet, an easy, peaceful quiet. She just looked into his eyes. "So, 24 hours later and I feel like I've jumped off a cliff with you."

He grinned. "Me too." He watched her eyes fade back from the carnal excitement that had been filling them earlier. She once again looked like his Gabriella, the girl he'd known, well kind of known for a year and half or so. "You have this ability to appear sweet and innocent enough that I want to protect you. Meanwhile, I now know that there's this bad Gabriella lurking inside you that's lusting for some things I have been wanting for a long time now. I love that you can be both girls."

She blushed sweetly. "You make me crazy. I always have to clear my thoughts before I open my mouth around you, because I can't think straight when you touch me. Even when it's just benign, casual touches."

He smiled, "I've been craving a woman I could love without restraint. I had no idea that you could be that girl."

She laughed, "I've been begging every deity that would listen for a guy who could handle everything I had to give without abandon."

He leaned her toward him and kissed her forehead again. "I'm going to take you to my house. I want you to come up to my tree house."

She gave him this goofy look, "Why your tree house?"

He smiled, "Because you should see some things before we go any further."

She frowned, "Troy, you're scaring me. I'm not going to see some stalker's den, am I?"

He laughed, "No…but it might be slightly set up for what we've been talking about."

Her eyebrows rose and her mouth dropped open. "What?"

He nodded, "I've known what I wanted for a while. I just needed someone who could trust me enough to do it. And, the tree house is as close to outside as I can get without getting caught. Besides, it's the only place I can think of where no one else has ever had sex, ever. That's part of it for me. I want something that is completely mine, a place that no one's ever claimed."

She narrowed her eyes as though she were questioning him tentatively. "Will there be anyone home at your house?"

"My mom might be, so we might have to do this Friday night, when they're out to their stupid ballroom dancing class."

Gabriella nodded, "So, what are we waiting for then?"

He smiled gently, "For you to actually say yes. Yes, to being my girl and yes to what I'm describing to you and yes to seeing my special place."

Her smile softened. "Yes."

He looked at her, "Yes to what, Gabriella?"

She grinned, "Yes to all of it, Troy."

He grinned widely, "Yes!" He leaned up and kissed her. "Let's go." She put her shirt back on and climbed over him, completely over him. As he sat back up, she sat in the passenger's seat. He grasped her around the waist as she leaned forward to get her safety belt. He pulled her completely over to his side. He slid his lips faintly across her skin and whispered seductively into her ear. "I meant what I said about against me, Gabs. I want my bad girl right next to me, baby."

They pulled out of the dirt road and he stretched his arm around her shoulders. He felt and heard her chuckle softly. "What?"

She as smirking in a sweet, almost cute kind of way, "I just realized that we have so much in common its crazy. We're both the best at what we do. We're both sought after by colleges for being the best. We're both looking at universities who want to pay us to go to their schools. We both love to read, have big vocabularies, and apparently we are naughty in the same ways and lust for the same kinds of naughty. But, we've both thought the other one wouldn't understand if we showed who we really are."

He squeezed her shoulders toward him. He felt her head dip down to his shoulder and he leaned over and brushed a sweet kiss to her skin. "Too bad we didn't figure this all out sooner, huh?"

She nodded, but stayed very quiet.

He wondered after a few minutes of driving if she was still okay with all of this. "Babe? Are you okay?"

She nodded against his shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

She felt her chest tighten. Today had been the worst and then the best day she could remember, but she was remembering what her mom had said now. She was not destined to stay here. "Troy what's going to happen to us? We're both likely to end up at very distant universities."

He squeezed her. "I don't know about that, baby. I still haven't gotten you to answer the question I asked before we left school. How did you make your decisions?"

She frowned, "I guess in some ways they were made for me. I took the narrowed down options and decided amongst them. In some ways it was easier than trying to consider every possibility. In other ways, I knew it was limiting."

He nodded, "My dad, Chad, Chad's dad, my mom, just about everyone is sure that I'm going to U of A. But, to be honest, I have a lot of other recruiters talking to me and I'm really starting to listen."

Gabriella looked over at him curiously. "Have you told your dad about the other colleges?"

"He won't listen. I've tried. He just keeps telling me to stick with what's most likely to work out. Don't throw away my chance. But, I think what he's really saying is don't throw away **my **chance, like if I don't go to U of A then he's failing somehow, but I can't get him to see it's not about him…it's about me. I need this decision to be mine, made for my reasons."

Gabriella nodded, "Boy do I know that feeling."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I noticed your mom got pretty set on you leaving town. She seemed so nice in class. Why was she so harsh on you about not getting stuck here?"

Gabriella sighed, "Classic case of boy meets girl, girl gets pregnant, boy disappears and girl fights the world in order to make a living to take care of said baby Gabriella."

He nodded, "So were they in high school?"

"No, college. But, she doesn't see boys as a real option because she got screwed over. I had hoped that my new dad and Michael might change her mind, but I guess that was just the honeymoon until things went south today."

Troy nodded, "Yeah, we had a really shitty day, didn't we?"

She frowned and looked at him all sad and pathetic. "But, I thought that—"

He groaned, "Baby please don't torture me with the puppy dog eyes. It's just not fair."

She laughed as though she'd conned him, "Sweet! Now I know they work!"

He chuckled at her humor, but mostly her delight. He pulled the truck up to the side of the yard where he always parked. There were a lot of cars in his driveway and along the road and he knew he recognized most of them. "Damn. The team's here."

She looked up at his eyes. "Should I just walk home? I don't live far."

"No, you stay with me. I don't want any of those guys thinking they—nevermind, just—just stay with me, okay?" He got out and reached his hand up to help her out. He looked over her clothes just to be sure it wasn't obvious what they'd been doing before. "Hey, have I told you how good you look today?" His charming smile appeared on his face.

She shyly blushed and looked away. "No, you haven't, but thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." She giggled, "You know, now that you've relaxed a little."

He laughed, "Yeah, thank you for that by the way."

"You're more than welcome, but I do hope that—"

Chad yelled from the door. "What the hell is _**she**_ doing here?"

Troy positioned himself slightly in front of her with his hand on her hip. "I brought her home to show her something. What the hell are you doing here? You do know that you have your own mommy and daddy, right?"

Chad glared at him hard. "Oh, so it's gonna be like that, huh? Well, I'll have you know we were invited by Coach, you know the guy who actually own this house?"

Troy glared back, "Get out of my way, Danforth." He pushed passed Chad with Gabriella close to him.

"Why don't you take her back to her boyfriend before he comes to kick your ass?"

Troy whipped around and got in Chad's face. "SHE'S MINE! MY GIRLFRIEND, NO ONE ELSE'S! GET OVER YOUR STUPID LITTLE PRANK, CHAD! LEAVE MY GIRL ALONE!"

Chad shouted right back, "OR WHAT, YOU'LL QUIT BASKETBALL, OR BEAT ME UP! I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY! YOU'D HAVE TO GET THROUGH THE WHOLE TEAM TO GET TO ME NOW, _**CAPTAIN**_**!**"

Troy heard Gabriella whimper. He turned to see Jack Bolton with his hand around her upper arm. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE, TROY?"

Troy wasn't sure what to do. He was at home, but there were still too many threats to keep her safe from. "LET HER GO!"

Just then a stern feminine voice cut through the crowd of males. "Boys, the woman has a voice of her own. Stop talking about this beautiful young girl like she's deaf and stupid and incapable of speaking for herself."

The whole group of guys seemed to cower at the sound of Troy's mom. "Jack, take your hand off of her, NOW."

Jack let her go. Now that he looked around, maybe he had overreacted a bit. "I apologize, Gabriella. I overreacted just now."

She nodded, but stepped over to Troy and into his arms none the less.

Troy felt relief wash over him as she wrapped back around his body. "I'm sorry, baby. I should have just taken you home."

Lucille spoke up again. "Team, you know I love you all, but this is a family moment. I'd appreciate it if you all went on home now."

The boys all began to move toward cars or to get keys. Chad felt his arm caught by Lucille's small hand. "You will be staying for dinner. I've already arranged it with your mother. Now, you need to go in and set the table while I have a moment with my two men, please."

Chad nodded, "Yes, ma'am."


	9. Mediation

Someone Completely - Chapter 9 - Mediation

Jack felt really bad when Lucille met his eyes. The situation had been escalating all day and all he'd done was react in increasingly worse ways. He walked up to her and took the bags in her hands. "Kitchen or living room, dear?"

Lucille shook her head as she looked at him. Then she reached up and placed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Put them in the kitchen and then meet us for a family meeting in the living room, please."

Gabriella looked at Troy and softly said, "I'm gonna head home so you guys can talk. Call me later."

Lucille looked the young girl in the eyes, "Oh no, my dear. You will be staying for dinner as well. Maria and I go way back, though I realize you don't know that. I'll be calling her this evening as well."

Troy felt Gabriella stiffen a little. He tried to hide his smile when he realized that his mother really did have that kind of effect on others as well. For which he got a slap to the back side of his head. It wasn't hard, just enough to make him apologize to her before he kissed her cheek. "Hi mom."

"Hello, son. You realize you haven't actually introduced us?"

Troy cleared his throat. "Sorry. Gabriella Montez, this is my mother, Lucille Bolton. Mom, this is Gabriella Montez."

Lucille stuck out a hand to Gabriella who took the offered hand. "It's nice to meet you, Gabriella."

Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Bolton. I'm sorry, but did you say you know my mom?"

Lucille smiled, "Your mother graduated from East High along with me. Jack and I met in college just about the time that your mom met Eduardo Montez."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows and felt her lips slowly separate. "You knew my dad?"

Lucille gave the young girl a sad smile, "Yes. I did."

Troy felt Gabriella go a little weak. He wrapped her a little more tightly in his arms. "Let's go inside and talk like mom said earlier."

Gabriella just looked back and forth between mother and son for a blank moment. Then finally, she nodded and said, "Okay."

Lucille went into the kitchen to give them a moment alone.

Troy led Gabriella into the living room and pulled her onto his lap in the big comfy chair with ottoman. She sat a little shocked. She'd expected almost anything except someone she didn't know telling her they'd known her dad. She'd always wanted to know about him, but asking her mom was not an option. Suddenly she had an opportunity.

Troy waited a few moments. Gabriella was obviously thinking. Finally, he ran the tip of his index finger along the side of her face. "Baby? Are you okay?"

She came back to the present and just kind of looked over at Troy blankly. "Uh, what?"

Troy ran his hand up and down her back. "You zoned out there. Are you alright?"

She bit her lower lip again. It wasn't the same teasing, innocent look she'd been giving him earlier, it was a truly confused, thinking kind of gesture. "Yeah, I will be." She gave him a small, tentative smile. "I've never met anyone else who knew my dad. Before I was old enough to know to ask, he was gone and mom and I had started moving every six months."

Troy was surprised. He had no idea what it would be like to not know his dad or to move at all, much less every six months. "I've got like a million questions, but they can wait. I just want to make sure you're okay. I was a little worried about you there. I don't think I've ever actually seen you zone out."

She leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm good. I was just shocked. Today has been so weird. I don't know what I would have done without you today." She snuggled her face into the crook of his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's gonna be okay. It's just a really bad day. But, you're right, I don't know what I would've done without you today either. You've made this afternoon incredibly better than this morning when I was trying to go it alone."

She nodded quietly against his skin. "I wish we could get a little more time alone."

He chuckled, "You and me, both, but mom's cruise director now. She'll be to the bottom of all of this by the end of dinner. She's good like that."

She wanted to curl up in his arms up in that tree house he'd wanted to show her and just pretend the rest of the day hadn't happened. "What book are you reading right now?"

He looked at her confused. "I'm just sitting here with you right now."

She shook her head. "Do you read during the school year?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, but we'll talk about that later."

She looked confused. "Okay."

Then she heard his mom's voice. "Alright. So, I have bits and pieces of what's happened today. Now, as a family we're gonna sit here and explain to mom how exactly the day ended up with that nasty confrontation I came home to."

Jack explained the morning meeting in his office between himself and his son. He told Lucille how Troy had quit the basketball team.

Troy explained the fight between him and Chad that morning, followed by the horrendous morning. Then he and Gabriella took turns explaining lunch. They left out their afternoon and just skipped to them returning to the house and everything from there.

Lucille shook her head. "First, Jack why didn't you call me this morning when Troy left your office?"

Jack blushed a little, "Because the thought didn't occur to me. I'm sorry. That would have been a much better idea."

She nodded, "Alright, well it is what it is now. So, let me get this straight. After an incredibly difficult day, Troy has quit basketball and gained a girlfriend. Dad has essentially told you that you're the problem here," she said looking at Gabriella, who nodded. "And, Troy and Chad have been screaming at each other constantly because of Troy quitting which prompted him to post a really terrible picture on the school's website implying that Gabriella is actually in a relationship with her step-brother, which Maria is not taking well, much less your now actually being with Troy?"

All three nodded quietly.

"Today is going to take a long time to recover from." She sighed. "Alright. Troy, why did you quit basketball?"

He looked at Gabriella while he tried to decide what to tell his mom. Gabriella met his gaze and leaned closer laying her head on his chest at his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her a little. Then his mom shocked him.

"Oh, Gabriella please tell me you're not pregnant."

Gabriella sat up straight and both teens instantly looked over at his mom with huge eyes. Troy stuttered, "N-No, m-mom! No, it's not like that!"

Both parents let out a heavy breath of relief.

Gabriella spoke up now. "Look, we're not there yet. It's not like we hooked up at a party or something. I am more responsible than that anyway. I've been on birth control since I turned 16 just in case." She looked over at Troy. "Should I say?"

He nodded.

"Look, he doesn't want to disappoint anybody. But, he's been thinking about not going to U of A and he just needed a few days to think for himself. That's all."

Jack got upset again, "Not going to U of A? Troy that scholarship is important! You don't even know that they'll offer to you now that you've quit! U of A is your best shot!"

Troy rolled his eyes.

"Quit with the theatrics, Troy."

Troy glared at his dad, "Look this decision is mine! You made your decision! Back off!"

Gabriella looked Jack in the eye, "He's not quitting basketball for good. He just needs a chance to breathe. He doesn't want to make the wrong decision for the wrong reasons. I get that! I'm trying to do the same thing with academics. You really need to chill out before you push him away completely! Trust me, my mom already has! Just let him think for himself!"

Troy pulled her back to him. "She's right, dad. You're pushing too hard. Just back off for a couple of days. I need to think. She's helping me do that."

"But we have a game on Friday and there might be scouts."

Troy sighed, "And I'll be back in uniform on Friday. I just need a little bit of time, dad."

Jack eyed his son for a few moments. "You'll be back in uniform on Friday? Why did you quit if you were planning on coming back?"

"I didn't know how to ask for a freaking break, okay? Yeah, I probably did that wrong. I just didn't know what else to do and after the thirty millionth lecture this morning about basketball scholarships, I couldn't take it anymore."

Gabriella laced her fingers through his. He wrapped his other arm a little tighter around her waist. Then because he needed the reassurance that she was there by his side, he leaned over and kissed her gently.

She kissed him back just as softly. She smiled at him, then turned back to the room.

"Look I know a lot has changed today. Some of it good and some of it bad, but the fact is that we're both in similar situations right now and we're trying to work together to figure them out. If that ticks you off, I'm sorry. But, for right now, it really, really feels like it's the two of us against the world." She looked at Lucille, "And you're about the only neutral party we've dealt with today."

Lucille nodded, "So, basically, we need to let you kids talk when it comes to certain issues?"

Gabriella nodded, "Neither one of us is going to make a decision 'for' the other. We're just talking about what decisions we've made and how we came to them. We actually have a ton of things in common. In fact, that's what we were talking about on the way here."

Chad spoke up from the dining room entry way. "You are just getting in his way," he retorted bitterly.

Troy glared at him, "How many times do I have to tell you to leave my girl alone?"

Lucille stood up and moved between them. "Snide remarks," she said looking at Chad, then she turned to Troy, "and yelling are not going to fix anything. Rein those tempters in boys."

Gabriella smiled. She'd never seen anyone control these two that way. She enjoyed that they would respond to a strong, patient woman. Maybe Troy really could handle all the different facets there were to her after all.

Troy sighed and brushed a kiss against her cheek.

Chad finally spoke. "Look all I know, is that everything was perfectly fine until your stupid stepbrother showed up yesterday after school. Yeah, Troy was a little distracted by you before that, but it wasn't a bad distracted. Then he shows up at practice upset and frustrated, then this morning he's quitting basketball and defending you like you're the one who's been his best friend since kindergarten."

Gabriella smiled softly, "So, you're really pissed because you're jealous that he's turning to me and not you?"

Chad narrowed his eyes, "You got him to quit basketball!"

Troy shook his head, "She didn't get me to do anything. In fact, she didn't know about me quitting basketball until you created a scene in the cafeteria and we took off."

Chad shook his head. "You've been screwed in the head ever since she started actually paying attention to you yesterday morning. I know you've always had this secret thing for her, but it was like she was somehow instantly in your head and you just started giving up everything that you'd ever done without her."

"It's not about her, Chad. God, how many times do I have to tell you that? Basketball, my frustration, my needing time to think, none of it is about her. She's helping me sort through all the crap and telling me how she decided to go where she's going. It's helped a lot already. She gets it. She's got a bunch of people pulling her in a million directions too."

Chad just looked at him, "So do I, man. You didn't need to quit basketball and your friends to find somebody who gets it!"

Gabriella looked at Chad, "He didn't quit his friends, Chad, you guys bailed on him this morning. I was there, remember?"

Chad shook his head. "No, you weren't. After I yelled at him in the hallway, he told me him quitting basketball was all just a ruse to get West High to think he'd bailed and change their game plan. Then he told me that we were supposed to pretend to fight. Except then I got really pissed off and I decided to get back at you, because I thought you'd screwed with his head and I put up that picture."

Gabriella sighed, "So, you were around yesterday when he came out to meet me?"

Chad nodded. "I was going to give him crap about making out with you, but then nerd boy pulled up and I grabbed a pic of him, only you moved just before my phone took the picture and I got you with Michael instead."

Troy glared at him, "That was none of your business."

Lucille stepped in again, "At this point, it is what it is. The picture can't be untaken. Has it at least been pulled off the website?"

Chad nodded, "Mr. Matsui suggested that if I knew who'd done it that I should firmly suggest it be taken down. So, I took it down."

Lucille nodded. "Okay, so the picture is gone. Troy is returning to basketball on Friday. And everyone is talking again. We're doing good here, guys." She smiled, "And girls. It's so nice to say that and not mean just myself," she giggled.

Jack smiled at his wife. Her giggles had this effect on him. He stood up and took a deep breath. He walked over to Lucille and pulled her into his arms. "I put the Lasagna in the oven earlier. I think we should go check it. You know I'll screw it up if you're not there to tell me what temp it's supposed to be."

She chuckled and leaned back to kiss him gently. "Alright." She turned to the teens, "No killing each other for a few minutes, alright?"

All three nodded and said, "Okay."

Chad walked over and sat down on the couch. "This sucks. You've got Gabriella and Mom and Dad are being all cuddly and I'm stuck by myself."

Gabriella giggled, "I could call Taylor."

"NO!" Chad and Troy both said simultaneously, which just made Gabriella laugh that much harder. Troy started to laugh a little bit too.

Chad rolled his eyes. "God, that's the last thing I need."

Troy smiled as his laughter dialed down. "So, you really were mad in second?"

Chad just looked at back at Troy's eyes for a moment or two. "Yeah. I was pissed."

Troy nodded, "Sorry, man. I didn't think my 'quitting' would ruin your day."

Chad sighed, "Dude, it's not about ruining my day. Man, we're a team. Even off the court, you and me and sometimes J and Zeke, we're a team, man. And this morning you just bailed on us, in every way."

Troy let out a heavy breath. He ran a hand through his hair. Then his eyes caught Gabriella's. He felt his chest tighten. Her eyes were breath taking. He gripped her hand again. Then, he looked back over at Chad, "I'll make a compromise with you. Give me two days to think. I'll come back to practice on Thursday and we'll go on."

Chad grimaced. He wasn't completely sure he should take Troy's word for anything right now. The guy hadn't really been himself today. "If you don't show up on Thursday, I reserve the right to hunt your ass down and pummel you."

Troy chuckled. "Deal."

Chad narrowed his eyes and nodded. "That Lasagna smells so good. I'm sooooo hungry!"

Gabriella giggled.

Troy smiled and began to tickle her sides a little. "Oh, so you're ticklish! That's perfect!"

"No, Troy!"

He laughed, "Too bad, Ms. Montez! You're mine now!"

Gabriella laughed breathlessly as Troy's fingers brushed her sides.


	10. Touch

Someone Completely - Chapter 10 – MMmmmm…

Chad laughed at them. He'd seen Troy with all kinds of girls, especially this last year. Troy had been going through girls like Kleenex. Zeke had even wondered if Troy could feel anything for a girl anymore. Now, Chad realized he'd watched as Gabriella (in 48 hours) had changed his best friend. He watched as Troy smiled more in the few minutes of teasing Gabriella than he had in what seemed like months. Chad had been dead set all day that Gabriella was to blame for Troy's stupid decisions. Now seeing this, he wondered if maybe she really was the only one who could make Troy feel good again.

Chad got up to leave as he saw them starting to softly nuzzle each other. When Gabriella said something about Eskimo kisses, Chad knew it was time to bail. He looked toward the kitchen and said, "I need something to eat!" He headed straight to the kitchen.

Troy gently rubbed the tip of his nose along her skin again. "Baby?" He whispered.

She left her eyes closed as she enjoyed the amazing feel of his caresses. "Yeah?"

"I want to kiss you." A soft whisper was all he could manage right now, because Troy was completely consumed with the girl in his arms. "Please?"

Gabriella leaned forward and gently let her lips press against his. She breathed in through her nose and let her body take over for a moment. She couldn't hear anything except the sound of their kisses and his occasional moan. She knew in the back of her mind that they were not alone, but she couldn't help herself. She'd felt frustrated and upset almost all day. The feelings Troy could make her feel were so much better than anything else she'd had the chance to feel lately. He didn't pressure her, the way Taylor and her mom did. He didn't expect anything from her, the way her teachers and the other student's did. He just took what she was willing to give him. That was all she could have possibly ever asked for. She was reveling in their passionate kisses when Mr. Bolton interrupted her thoughts and their actions.

"Kids, it's time to separate and come to the table, please."

Troy stiffened and felt his stomach flip when he heard his dad's voice. She'd been kissing him with so much passion that his body had begun to respond. Now, his dad's voice was the last thing he wanted to hear. He tried to clear his thoughts and ultimately, all he got out was, "Yeah."

Gabriella reluctantly let go of his hand as she stood up. She took one step away and saw him swallow hard before he got up as well. She took a couple of small steps away from him and realized that was the farthest she'd been from him since lunch. She couldn't help but think that she wished they could be that way all the time.

Troy stood right next to her and took her hand back into his. He wanted to pull her out to the tree house and just spend the rest of the night worshipping every inch of her body, but they couldn't. He had to take half of a dozen steps that would place them at the dinner table. He slid his lips over her skin, pressing just twice between her cheek and the edge of her ear. Against everything inside of him, he led her into the dining room where Chad, Jack, and Lucille already sat.

Gabriella sat in the chair that Troy pulled out for her. Then she smiled softly at Chad before looking over at Troy as he sat next to her. Jack reached forward and asked who wanted some Lasagna. To everyone's amusement Chad watched Gabriella waiting for her to get her slice before he could thrust his plate forward.

After dinner and a number of small talk kind of conversations, Troy and Gabriella were free to spend some time alone together. Chad had said goodbye after dinner and Lucille and Jack could be seen joking around as they cleaned up the kitchen.

Troy climbed the ladder first on their way up to the tree house. Once Gabriella joined him she was astonished to see more than the assumed basic tree house. What she found was a fully enclosed room with full roof. Troy turned on a camping lamp and she found herself wrapped in its small warm lighting. She saw before her a small mattress with several warm looking blankets and a number of small pillows.

Troy laughed, "Uh, yeah, when my mom gets new pillows for the couch and beds, she gives me the old ones. As you can see, I don't get really get rid of any of them."

Gabriella smiled and looked at him teasingly. "It's nice. It's like a memorial to all the latest fashions for, you know, your whole life." She laughed.

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever," he said as he dropped down onto the little bed, "it's really comfortable. Come 'mere…let me show you."

She laughed a little lighter as she let him pull her down on top of him. She sat straddling him and just looking down at him. "So, were you serious in the truck? Can we really try what I was talking about some time? I mean it doesn't have to be the first time we…you know."

He laughed. For all her proof of being a bad girl, she still had some innocent moments. "Yeah. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd been looking for someone to let me do this." He reached over and opened a small box next to the bed. Inside were a small collection of things, including a blind fold.

Gabriella's eyes widened, "Troy you're not planning on tonight, are you?"

Troy chuckled, "No, baby. I just wanted to show you exactly what I had in mind so that I know we're talking about the same thing."

She eased back onto his hips. "Oh thank God. I thought, never mind." She smiled, "So, here's what I was thinking." She rolled to his side said, "Blindfold me."

He looked over and grinned. "God, it's gonna be hard for me to keep my hands to myself."

She giggled, "Too bad, Wildcat, no pussy for you tonight."

He rolled his eyes and proceeded to blindfold her. Then when he was sure it was on well enough for her to be truly blind to him, he let his eyes truly wander her gorgeous body. He let his eyes dwell on the spots he normally would look away from out of politeness. He ran his hand less than an inch above her body, over the swell of her breast and then down the sweetness that was in the V of her legs. His mouth was watering before he was done. He took a deep breath and pulled his hand back. He stretched himself out next to her. He leaned down so his lips pressed against the fabric over her eyes and most of her ear. He nibbled at the part of her ear that was still uncovered. Then he whispered into her ear, "I like this already. I can stare at you the way I always want to, but am not allowed to do in public."

She blushed. She hadn't thought about the some of the ways that he would retain control. She just wanted to try sex without the use of her eyes. She had figured out a year or so ago, that when you open your eyes during a kiss, it's not as good. She realized that sometimes knowing what's coming next could ruin the mood for her. She'd wondered one night what it would be like to be blind. Surely, she'd have the use her other senses to feel everything the guy wanted to do to her. She sighed, "Then I suggest you enjoy your freedom while it lasts."

He grinned against her skin. "Oh, I am." He took another hard long look at her tits. "Am I allowed to touch you while I look, baby?"

She thought for a moment and then gently nodded just once. If he was looking, he'd know her answer, if not…too bad. She smiled at finding a way to retain some of her own control.

Troy grinned like the Chestshire cat when he saw her affirmation. "HHmmm…where to begin?" He teasingly whispered. He slid his warm hand just inside her shirt at her stomach. He felt her flinch slightly at the unexpected contact. "Are you still okay with me touching, baby?"

She swallowed and a smile slowly slid across her features. "Yes." She smiled bigger. The unbelievable amount of excitement just his hand on her stomach was causing was amazing. She couldn't believe how much anticipation she was feeling without the ability to see what he was doing. "This feels so good."

He leaned down to the skin where her neck met her shoulder. He gently kissed as though telling her he was there. Then, he gently let his warm breath travel up her neck to her ear lobe. He nuzzled her just behind the ear lobe before doing the same thing on the other side. He felt the goose bumps on her skin before he saw them. He nuzzled against her other ear and whispered, "You're right. This is fucking amazing. I want you so bad right now."

She grinned. "Prove it."

He smiled at her response. Then he got an idea. "Hhmmm…proof?"

She giggled at him for using her words from earlier. "Yeah." She heard him unzip his pants and smiled as she felt him in her hands again. This time, his cock was very hard long before she touched him. She wrapped her hand around it and reveled in the art of seeing with her hands. She couldn't just let go of him and move, because she might not know exactly where to reach to get a hold of it again without ruining the mood.

She grinned. Blindfolded was going to be just as hot an experience as she had thought it would be. Before she could say what she was thinking, she felt him moving. "What are you—"

"If this is going to work the way we want it to, you can't ask that question, baby. I can't tell you what I'm doing. That defies the point of blindfolding you."

She nodded again. "Okay."

He kissed her lips gently. "Let go of my dick, baby."

She whimpered.

He laughed, "I promise you can have it back soon. I just want to try something. I want to feel something."

She grudgingly let him go. "You promise you'll let me have it back soon?"

He whispered in her ear seductively as he settled between her legs. "I promise."

She groaned as she felt his cock settle into the very place that would drive her crazy if she were naked. "Oh…oh God. Troy…"

He brushed his finger tips down her neck before latching on to a spot she'd reacted to earlier. After a few intense moans and the feel of her hands grabbing at him, he pulled back. "If you really don't want to have sex tonight, baby, then I'm going to have to beg you to stop bucking your hips against my bare cock. Because, every time you do that, I want to slam into you so hard and hear you beg me for more."

She moaned and whimpered. "Troy this isn't fair."

He laughed, "I said that it's exactly what I wanted to do. I never said this was a fair situation, Gabs. You're a bad girl sometimes, you know life isn't fair."

She laughed, "I want more, Troy."

He nuzzled her skin. He wanted to give in. He wanted to pull her clothes the rest of the way off of her body and settle the weight of his cock inside her pussy. He wanted to keep her focused on the feel of him having sex with her while he thrust into her repeatedly. He wanted to revel in the thought that she was entranced with the feelings he was producing inside her instead of the fact that she was having sex with the East High Basketball Captain.

But, his parents were just inside the house and they were probably already too undressed to make a quick exit if they needed to. If he was buried cock deep in her when his dad decided to call them in and he didn't hear him, they could easily run the risk of having one of his parents walk in and catch them mid-coitus. Needless to say, that could be very bad. So, instead, he kissed her cheek. "I'm so sorry, baby. I can't give you more right now." He kissed her lips this time then moved to her neck. Between kisses he said, "But," kiss, "I promise," kiss, "that I," kiss, "will," kiss, "make love," kiss, "to you," kiss, "as soon," kiss, "as I can," kiss.

She giggled. "Parents?"

He nodded, then remembered she couldn't see him. "Yeah."

She ran her fingers down his hair to his face. She felt him kiss her fingers as they slid over his mouth. Then she slid her hands down his chest to his abs. She ran her fingers to his hips. "Can I get another good feel before you have to put your clothes back on?"

He smiled against her skin. "You don't know how much I love hearing you ask me that." He moved so that his dick was rubbing against her hand.

She smiled, grabbed it and then moved so that she could suck on it just a little bit. She understood that they couldn't get too carried away to be able to hear someone if they were approaching.

He leaned his head back. He knew this was probably going too far, but he just couldn't find the will to stop her. This afternoon had felt sooooo good and she was sucking on him again voluntarily. That's when the thought occurred to him. "Baby, stop, just for a second." When she refused to let him go, he chuckled, "I swear I'll put my dick back in your mouth, baby. I promise that I won't make you go without sucking me as much as you want to. I just want to reciprocate, baby."

She slid his cock out of her mouth momentarily, "69?"

He chuckled, "Yeah."

She grinned, but lay back down so that he could position himself over the top of her.

Just as he was getting ready to slide his dick into her mouth and bend down to taste her, he heard his dad yell for them. "Damn it!" He swore softly. He quickly sat back up and pulled the blind fold from her eyes. They both hurriedly dressed. But, before they walked out, Troy pulled her back and started kissing her passionately. He hadn't gotten his release and he'd been a hair's breadth from getting to taste her. He needed sexual contact with her, even if it was just kissing. It really didn't matter if his dad caught them making out in the tree house anyway.

Troy's mouth on hers made her want to strip down again. She heard his dad call them again and wondered why Troy had locked his lips to hers. Her curiosity had nothing to do with her not being in desperate need of physical contact with him; just that she knew his dad wasn't going to stop. She felt him groan. She felt him rubbing himself against her leg. She knew that he'd been so worked up and he'd sounded excited to get to eat her and she'd been so ready to feel his mouth.

"TROY!" Jack slammed a fist into the tree house door. He could hear them making out in there. He hoped that was all they were doing, which was why he'd yelled and knocked instead of barging in. Just as he was getting more concerned, he saw the door fly open as Troy held her close to him. They were both fully clothed however. Jack breathed an internal sigh of relief. Sure, he could tell that they'd been doing something because her shirt was now a bit wrinkled, but their pants were still in the same shape they had been earlier. Regardless, shirts or no shirts, he wasn't getting a grandchild anytime soon. Besides, given Troy's obvious tension, there was no way he'd been able to wreak that much damage to his future. Something for Jack to inwardly chuckle about.

Troy hated his father right at this minute. _Why is everyone always interrupting us just when I am enjoying her the most?_ "Yes?"

Jack grimaced, "Out of the tree house, please."

Troy rolled his eyes.

Jack laughed as Gabriella began climbing down the tree ladder. He stopped Troy, "Do you really think your mother and I are that stupid? I'm fully aware of what you two do behind closed doors. Which is why when she is here, there will be a NO closed door policy. Kapesh?"

Troy glared at him. "Yeah, fine. Whatever."

Jack shook his head as Troy climbed down to Gabriella's side. He ran a hand over his face. He let out about the millionth heavy breath of the day. Getting Troy off to college was proving to be more challenging than the kid's terrible two's had been. Jack rolled his eyes. They just needed to keep him from crashing and burning for another eight months or so. Then he'd be off at college and they wouldn't have any authority aside from just being mom and dad. Jack turned and started climbing down the tree ladder to rejoin the gravity bound portion of society.


	11. Circles

**I realize I don't usually leave Author's notes, but I feel it should be done here. This is a short chapter on purpose. See if you can figure out why. :-D **

**I'm enjoying this piece. I hope each of you are as well. Though I rarely state it, I do GREATLY appreciate the reviews. It really does make my day to know what others gain from my writing. :-) Bridgie  
**

Someone Completely - Chapter 11 - Circles

Troy circled her in the crowd. Several of the seniors had been summoned to the gym to discuss the student government's senior project. Of those seniors, Gabriella and Taylor, Chad and Troy, Zeke and Sharpay had all been requested to attend the meeting. There were several others of course, but Troy was only concerned with those few. Currently, Troy was watching Gabriella and Taylor discuss something around the center of the group. Neither young woman had noticed his circling approach.

Chad laughed on the bench as he and Zeke watched Troy work his way toward Gabriella. "He looks like he's been watching too much animal planet." Chad laughed.

Zeke smiled too from their vantage point. "What gets me is that Gabriella and Taylor really are oblivious to his approach. It really is like they're the prey and he's the wolf."

Chad's laugh stop as Troy paused in his circling. Troy had reached his last good hiding space before he entered the girls' awareness. Chad tensed just a little as he watched Troy's eyes flip back and forth watching Gabriella and Taylor both for signs of responsiveness. Just as Troy darted toward the girls, Chad leaped up and got between Troy and Taylor. He growled, actually growled like a wolf. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Troy's eyes flashed anger. Then, never truly taking his eye off Chad, he glanced over at a very shocked Zeke. Troy focused back in on Chad. "I was sneaking up on my girlfriend, Chad," he said in a deep, overly steady voice. "What the hell are you doing?"

Chad felt his shoulders ease back to their normal position. "I—uh," he looked around at the confused faces. He landed on Taylor's angry one. "Well—"

Taylor narrowed her eyes further. "Well? What did you think you were doing? Did you really think that Gabriella needed to be saved from her boyfriend?"

Chad shrugged, "No, Tay, it's not—"

"Tay? Since when do you call me Tay? And why would you shorten my name? What is wrong with you Chad?" She grumbled and turned to walk to the stage to start the meeting.

Troy watched Chad sadly wander back to the seat he'd vacated next to Zeke. He reached for Gabriella. "What the hell just happened here?"

She shook her head as she slid into his arms. "I have no idea."

He gave her an easy smile. "You coming over tonight after practice?"

She nodded, "Yep. Your practice will give me time to get some homework done."

He smiled as his arms closed around her waist. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. "I can't wait."

She grinned. "Me either."


	12. Twist

**There was another chapter that I had very briefly posted before this. I've taken it down. If you read it, just re-read chapter 11 (Circles) and then move on to this one.**

Someone Completely – Chapter 12 - Twist

Troy was pacing the floor in the living room. His nerves were making his body feel as though it were humming. He almost thought he was going to come apart at the seams.

Jack noticed Troy once again behaving strangely. "Troy, calm down."

Troy rung his hands and turned to look at his dad. "I haven't been this nervous for a date since my very first one. Why can't I chill?"

Jack watched his son with more than a passing concern. He'd seen males act like this before. He'd seen young men on the verge of adulthood frustrated at every turn, almost looking for a fight. Jack was not oblivious to the feeling himself. When he'd been a young man, not yet an alpha male, he'd been frustrated and anxious too. He'd sought fights. He'd even sought woman after woman to satiate his irritation. However, he'd been five years older than Troy was now. "Troy, just relax. You know she cares about you. It's not like this date is going to be your last with her."

Troy felt his stomach flip. "It's not like I don't want to relax, dad. It's just—I don't know. She's different, you know? I mean, this is Gabriella. She means a lot to me. What if screw up our date? What if she doesn't ever want to see me again?"

Jack chuckled, "After the tree house incident, I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen."

Troy rolled his eyes. _He can understand without knowing everything._ "Yeah, I guess." He paused his pacing and sat on the edge of the couch. He bounced his knees in alternating patterns.

Jack watched something he hadn't really thought he'd see happen for several more years. "Troy look at me," he said with sudden seriousness.

Troy was getting a headache, but his heart was still pounding rapidly. "What?"

Jack watched as Troy's eyes changed from his normal bright blue to an intense purple with wide pupils. "Shit." Jack shook his head, "You can't go out tonight, son. You need to calm down. Now."

Troy put his hand on his forehead. His headache was getting increasingly worse by the second. "This cannot be happening. I can't get sick. I'm supposed to pick her up in like twenty minutes."

Jack shook his head. "I'll call her and let her know you can't come tonight."

Troy shook his head. "No, no, I'll just get some Tylenol. I'll be fine."

Jack saw Troy stand, then he saw the younger man drop to his knees. Jack quickly closed the drapes and before he'd turned back to Troy, he let his own fangs and claws release. He hunched his back and braced for a fight.

Troy curled into a ball and whimpered as he felt his body convulse. Just then the doorbell rang. Troy knew instantly who it was. He whipped up and started toward the door. He didn't pause when he strolled past the mirror hanging by the door. Instead, he whipped the door open and grabbed Gabriella. He pulled her into him and swung the door closed as he pushed her up against the wall. He shoved his nose over her shoulder into her hair. He breathed in her scent deeply. In a very rough, gravelly voice, he said, "I need you."

Gabriella stood frozen against the wall. Aside from Troy's strange looking eyes and unbelievable intensity, she could see his dad standing in the living room watching the whole scene take place. Gabriella couldn't believe her eyes. She was terrified now. It wasn't possible, but there in front of her was her boyfriend half changed to a werewolf and his dad all but on all fours.

Troy felt her stiffness and registered something he couldn't have just consciously thought, H_er smell changed. She's scared._ He pulled back and then looked around to see what could possibly make his mate scared. His eyes landed on his dad in near full wolf form. He growled a very real wolf growl as warning to back away.

Jack looked at Gabriella which only enraged Troy more. Jack said carefully, "Gabriella, he doesn't know that he's begun to change. Be very careful. He could hurt you by accident." Then he took a slow, steady step backwards putting more distance between him and Troy.

Troy's growl continued as a low rumble in his chest. He turned his head back to his Gabriella. "My mate…" he whispered into her ear. "Need you…"

She swallowed hard. She had no idea what to do. "Troy?"

He nuzzled just below her ear in response.

"Baby, I want to look into your eyes. Can you look at me?"

Troy leaned back to look at her. He leaned forward to kiss her, but felt her stiffen further. "What's wrong?" His rough voice asked.

She didn't say anything. She gestured toward the mirror.

Troy turned and caught a glance of only himself. He started to ask her, but then his mind registered on the color of his eyes. He turned back and stared at the fangs that had begun to descend. He'd read about werewolves in books over the years. He'd seen movie after movie. He'd never once thought he'd see one in real life.


	13. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

Okay guys, I'm getting a lot of mixed signals. I have a reason for doing what I'm doing with the characters right now. I don't know if you're all going to like it or not.

This is a story of twists. It is designed to be a story of twists. There are several things that you think you know at the beginning that don't hold true throughout the entirety of the story line. If you were looking for cookie-cutter storyline, this story is not your cup of tea.

I have written a number of stories over the years that hold to the cookie-cutter approach. Some of those are posted here. However, this story is designed and is progressing as a story of developing twists. I'm sorry if that was not apparent enough in the summary. I was trying to be enticing without giving away what's happening.

**Just so you know the twists are not over. There are more to come.**


	14. Fight

Someone Completely – Chapter 13 – Fight

Gabriella stroked his hair while his head lie in her lap. She didn't want to keep shaking, but she couldn't stop. She gently ran her fingers through his hair again and again in an attempt to calm him down. "Shh…It's gonna be alright." She smoothed her hand over his hair again, "I'm right here now. It's all going to be okay." She felt her mind reeling with all the thoughts and emotions that had stirred inside of her. She couldn't deny what was immediately in front of her. He had deep lavender eyes and teeth no ordinary human could have. His voice had dropped to a deep rasp, almost a growl. He was whimpering in her lap like an animal might when it's wounded.

Jack checked him again. He had a number of thoughts wheeling through his head as well. What did Troy's early transformation mean to his basketball scholarship? What did it mean for him to be so young and already be dealing with the demands of the pack? How would Jack explain this other part of their life to him? Sure, Troy had grown up around the pack without knowing it, but how was this going to affect his son? How was this going to affect Gabriella? Jack couldn't help but dwell on that question because he knew Maria and Eduardo's history. He knew Maria had run when Eduardo had revealed this side of him and had admitted that he wanted to mate with her the way wolves do. He sighed as he finished preparing the tea. Someone several generations ago had found a local root that could be made into a tea that helped to reduce the physical pain that came with the initial transformations, if not the psychological pain.

Troy lied in her lap. All he could think about was the eyes staring back at him. Well, that and her smell. He could smell her scent so intensely right now. He never really wanted that to go away. He could tell to a certain degree what she was feeling because he had such a degree of sensitivity to her scent. He leaned his head up to nuzzle her neck again. As he did, he grazed her hand with his new teeth.

She flinched as his tooth smoothly sliced her finger. It was like a paper cut. The cut was smooth, clean, and hurt with a sting. Before she could pull back, he had her hand in his and he was leaning down to kiss it.

He kissed her finger where he'd accidently sliced it. To kiss it, he had intentionally rolling his lips over the new found obstacles. As his lips pulled back from her finger, the innocent gesture turned within him. He licked his lips, effectively tasting her blood. The taste incited him. He was thoroughly excited. He reached over to lick the newly formed droplets of blood, when his dad walked back into the room.

"Wait! What the hell is going on in here? Is that Gabriella's blood? Troy?" Jack dropped the mug and grabbed Troy by the scruff of his neck, yanking him back. In his alpha voice, he said, "You don't know what you're doing! Stop fighting me!" Jack kept getting a temporary hold on Troy before Troy would slip it and tried desperately to get back to Gabriella. Finally, Jack got Troy down on the floor in a submissive hold.

Gabriella felt all her confusion and frustration boil over. "Let him go! LET HIM GO!" She screamed. "TROY!"

Troy tried to lunge toward her, but Jack held him down. That was when Jack felt her rushing toward them. As she came toward him, he glanced up with just enough time to see dark, dark golden eyes bearing down on him. They were Eduardo's eyes, when Eduardo was in Werecat form.

Gabriella began to fight and claw at Jack in order to force him to release Troy. Jack couldn't fight them both without hurting someone. Yet, who was he supposed to hurt to make this better? He finally lost his grip on Troy and felt the two of them back off of him and collide together.

Troy's body slammed into Gabriella's, "Mate!"

Gabriella jumped into his arms. She immediately wrapped all of her limbs around his body. She pressed a longing kiss to his lips. "Troy…" She moaned in her wisp of a voice. As she nuzzled her face up to Troy's neck, the distinct sound of a contented, loving cat could be heard coming from her.

Troy felt his heart begin to calm as he breathed in her scent again. He nuzzled her a couple of times, but mostly he simply held on to her and let her nuzzle him. She was purring loudly and he was thoroughly enjoying the sound. Somewhere inside his body hummed along with her purring. He turned his head and very lightly traced the tip of his tongue along the edge of her ear. He felt her wiggle against him. His wolf didn't seem to mind having a cat all over him at all. In fact, his wolf wanted to come out and play with his kitty.

Gabriella felt her back hit a cushion. She had no idea if it was the couch, the oversized chair, or a bed somewhere. She didn't care. All that matter was rubbing on Troy. All that she could mentally process in her massive brain was finding more of his skin to press herself against. She needed him. She was beginning to feel that desire for him to take over welling inside. She wanted to_** play**_, and by _**play**_ she did not being polite and sweet, or pretending anything.

She purred against him and pressed her pelvis against his stomach. He knew instinctively what she was looking for. He wanted nothing more than to give her exactly that, but his father was still in the room. He couldn't focus on her completely until the other male was away from his mate. He had one eye on his dad at all times. Troy the son, had no fear of his dad being anywhere near his girlfriend; Troy the wolf, was concerned about another alpha male coming too close and trying to take away his mate. Troy could smell her need which meant any other alpha male close by could smell it too.

Jack shook his head. He was still thinking like a man. He could tell by Troy's attention that Troy's mind was mostly using animal logic at the moment. He'd seen too many young wolves trying to fight the animal instinct in them. He wondered briefly if Troy _and_ Gabriella both transitioning so young would somehow make it easier for their still developing minds to grasp their situation and accept who and what they were with less stress. He shook his head again. It really didn't matter right now, because he had to find a way to get them apart before they completely the mating ritual and found themselves a mated pair so early in their lives.

Troy heard his father's footsteps before he saw him approaching. Troy whipped around, securing Gabriella beneath him as he leaned up and growled at his dad. He was quickly changing form.

Gabriella felt her insides boiling as she heard Troy's growl. She simultaneously wanted to be against him and next to him. She felt her cat wanting to fight next to him. She also felt her overwhelming desire to mate with him. Before she truly considered anything she heard him growl a full wolf warning growl and the next thing she knew she was staring at Jack a step behind Troy with her teeth bared.

All Jack could do was look down at the wolf and Jaguar in his living room. They were leaps and bounds ahead of any two young Weres he'd met in years. They shouldn't have been able to transition like this the first time they connected to their animals. "Shh…Calm yourselves." He stared down at them. "I'm the alpha in this pack and you will do as you're told or their will be consequences you cannot fathom in your current form."

Just as Jack was gaining some control over the two young Weres in front of him, Lucille began walking down the stairs in heels while putting in an earring. She took a breath and said, "Hon, I'm almost ready. What time are the res—" She was cut short by Jack beginning to fight with a fully transformed wolf in the living room. She looked over and saw a Jaguar eyeing the fight, obviously wanting to protect the other wolf. She was confused. She couldn't remember any of the pack saying anything about coming by tonight? She stayed quiet and frozen and waited to see what would happen. She'd seen Jack fight for dominance several times. The difference this time was not knowing who he was fighting and where Troy was or if he'd walk in on this dominance display by accident.

Jack pinned Troy to the floor, but felt the younger, incredibly strong wolf slip out of his grasp. As he turned back again, he saw Troy heading toward Lucille. Jack responded without thinking. He went to protect his mate. He raced toward the stairs, but stopped short when Lucille held out a flat palm and he glanced over to see Troy sitting back on his haunches next to her feet. In his thoughts he'd forgotten that even in wolf form, Lucille was still Troy's mother. Troy hadn't been attacking Jack's mate, he'd been running to his mother's protection. Jack shook his wolf head in agitation. He stretched and began transitioning back to human form. As he did, he pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around himself. He shook from the fight and the rapid changes. He looked down at Troy. "You are to stay away from Gabriella tonight."

Troy shook his wolf head, but stayed behind his mother.

"Yes. You were very close to mating with Gabriella earlier and since you've already tasted her blood, you're just two steps from being a mated pair and you're both entirely too young to be a mated pair."

Lucille looked at Jack astonished. "A mated pair? Jack, they're both entirely too young to have transitioned into their Weres? What the hell is going on down here?"

Jack sighed. He wrapped the blanket around him more fully. Then, he looked back up at his wife. "I don't completely know the answer to that myself, but we need to figure it out quickly."

Lucille nodded and scratched Troy's head. "You, off to bed." She turned to Gabriella, "You, head home. We will expect you here at 8 am for a family breakfast."

Troy turned and looked through the rails at his mate. He wanted her with him badly, but he couldn't defy his parents and live to be with her. He had to comply. His wolf eyes met her golden Jaguar eyes and he tried desperately to make her understand that he didn't want to comply, but he knew he wouldn't live to get to her. He had to live to fight another day. He finally turned and trotted up the stairs, bumped his bedroom door open with his forehead and collapsed on his bed in full wolf form whimpering for his mate that he could still hear crying for him.

Gabriella was still in the living room. She was still keening. They couldn't make her stop. As soon as Troy started up the stairs, she begun whimpering for him. Now, she was lamenting his retreat with a loud cry.

Lucille felt horrible. She knew what it was to be separated from Jack. It hurt in a physical sense to be away from him, especially when they were young. But, Jack was right. If they spent any more time together tonight, they'd wind up a mated pair. She stroked Gabriella's fur as she began to quiet down. Lucille sat on the couch with Gabriella stretched out across her lap. Gabriella continued to whimper. Lucille softly said, "I know if feels like we've take your leg from you and we're keeping it. But, Gabriella, honey, Weres are strongly attracted to a few different possible mates. We only solidify our mated pairs by exchanging blood and then consummating the pairing. That is when the two of you will be a bonded, mated pair. After that, you'll not feel the desire to be with anyone other than your mate, nor will he feel the pull of another female."

Gabriella whimpered and looked up at the stairs. Internally she was only grasping about every other word that Lucille said. She was trying to find an opening to get to Troy. She was waiting for Jack to walk just far enough away from the stairs to sprint to her mate. She needed him. She couldn't go without him tonight. She heard Lucille continuing to talk as she watched Jack walk into the bathroom with some clothes. She didn't think. She just sprung herself for the stairs and sprinted directly to his room. She rushed his door and found herself scooting to a halt at the side of his bed.

He heard his mother squeal and then someone's claws ticking against the flooring. He was up on his feet on top of the bed, when his door came flying forward. He felt his hands come up in a defensive posture as a large Jaguar skidded to a stop at his side. He smiled down at those deep golden eyes when he saw her head nuzzling against his leg. His kitten had found a way to come to him.

Gabriella climbed up on the bed and stretched out. She watched as Troy shut his door in a quick jerk of motion. Just as he was pulling his hand back from the door knob, she heard him curse. "Damn!" She looked up and saw the small, thin line of blood begin to ooze from inside him. She was back in human form now, so she stood up and walked over to him buck naked. She leaned over and kissed his finger, just as he'd kissed hers downstairs before all the fighting had begun. Something sweet and with a distinct iron like taste caused her to crave him instantly. She only barely registered in her mind that his blood had touched her tongue before she was consumed by overwhelming need again.

His mind reeled back to the feeling of her blood on his tongue earlier and he suddenly needed to taste her and be inside of her. He was hard almost instantly. He went a little light headed for a moment, but that was all he had time to register as she jumped up and wrapped her body around him again. He just caught her as his back slammed into the door. He vaguely, in the back of his mind, heard his parents pound on the door as she slid down over his cock and he felt himself pressing up into her the way he'd needed to for what felt like so long now. He was just dropping them down onto the floor so that he could get better leverage when his door burst open. He jerked up onto his hands and knees and growled at the intrusion.

Jack stepped back just outside the doorway. He'd forgotten about the territorial aspect of this as he worried about his son. Then his eyes cleared and he saw what his wife was staring at…They were too late. Troy's hand was bleeding somewhere and they'd been in the process of—Jack looked away. He couldn't keep looking. He grabbed Lucille's arm just inside the doorway and pulled her back to him. He led her quietly downstairs and out the door. There was nothing to be done now. Nothing except allow them some privacy. They were a mated pair. They'd literally fought to be with each other. Now, he just _hoped that they didn't wind up regretting this as they got older._


	15. Coitus

Someone Completely – Chapter 14 – Coitus

Troy thrust up into her again. He had her on her hands and knees in front of him. He thrust into her wet pussy as he felt her shove back onto his cock. They weren't being gentle or kind or loving. They were fucking like their lives depended on fulfilling each other's needs. He leaned forward and wrapped one strong, muscled, sweat-covered arm around her waist to be able to hold her body where he wanted it. His hand brushed across her naked tits. He groaned as his slammed back into her. He wanted everything he could get right now. He needed her like he was going to die if he didn't finish in her. He grunted again as he thrust his cock as far inside of her as he could get. He wasn't holding anything back and she was shoving onto him with the same kind of need.

Gabriella moaned, groaned, grunted, and whimpered. She needed this so much more than she'd ever needed sex, even when she was wound tight enough to snap. She flexed every muscle in her body to try and shove back just that little bit harder. The unbelievable sensations building inside of her body were going to explode. She wanted to keep going. She wasn't ready to finish. She didn't want to finish without him. She wanted them both to tumble over the edge very hard and at the same time.

As he'd leaned over her body to grasp her, he felt a connection he'd never felt before. He felt whole, complete. She was as much a part of him as any part of his anatomy. He felt his chest fill with her scent and he knew that they'd always been meant to be together, that they would always be together. Now, he was holding her down. He had her arms pinned beneath his hands and her legs spread and pinned beneath his legs. He was thrusting at an angle that had her inner walls beginning to tighten around him. He could feel the buildup. He'd never felt himself this tense. His entire body was clinched up. His calves were beginning to cramp. He repositioned his legs so that his calves would stretch instead of cramp, but it only worked for a moment or two. He grunted as he roughly pounded into her body. He needed to be with her. He would do anything to _be_ with her. By _be_ with her, he internally knew that he had to finish with her. He needed to let go of that last restraint and finish with her, inside of her.

She pushed back, "Troy!" She was ready to beg to get herself over the edge. "Please! Oh God, PLEASE!"

Troy felt his balls clinching to send his seed into her. He inwardly reveled at the idea of holding her down and cumming inside the only female he could ever need. His girl. _**His pussy!**_ Troy felt his cum rushing out of his cock. He felt every muscle that had already been strained to the point of snapping, spasm as he finished inside the one pussy that he'd craved, dreamed about, begged, and fought for. All these thoughts about her were flying through his mind as he felt his body convulse yet again. He couldn't remember ever feeling an orgasm this intense. He'd never felt whole and complete during sex either. He _knew_ in that way that you know things during a dream, that he couldn't have survived without having sex with the woman beneath him. He _knew_ now that he'd never be able to live without her either, because nothing had ever felt as good as the last few drops of his seed spilling into his kitten.

Gabriella had never had an orgasm like this before. She'd finished on a lot of guys. She'd strained and fought for orgasms on her own. But, she'd never had one like this. His dick felt SSSOOOOO fucking good! The way he wasn't holding back at all translated in her mind to him needing this every bit as much as she did. She was rolling over and over and over the edge. This wasn't a quick "oh god, yes" and done. They were both screaming and grunting and grabbing each other. She felt him finish, but she also felt him still gripping her to him tightly. She grunted one last time and pushed backwards and caused them to topple over. Neither of them moved. They were both spent and satisfied, completely and utterly satisfied.

Troy didn't move. He just snuggled into her body. "Oh, baby, that was beyond amazing." He tried to regain regular breathing, but he had given everything thing he had physically to make it to that finish, but he'd had to be with her. "Mate…"

Gabriella was purring in her chest and throat now. She smiled with the last of the energy she had left, "Mate…" It was an answering coo. Her voice had carried all of the loving emotion she didn't have the words to express right now, because her mind was completely blank. All she could think about were the warm feelings of complete satisfaction as she continued to enjoy the emotions flowing from the rush of her orgasm.

He felt her soft purr in his hands as he held her while she drifted off to sleep in his arms. He was immediately behind her entering the land of dreams while he snuggled against his gentle, loving cat as she purred her love for him.


	16. Morning

Someone Completely – Chapter 16 – Morning

Lucille traced her finger tip along Jack's face. "What are we going to do? They've transitioned so early."

He just looked at his mate from where his head lie atop his folded arm. "I don't know, baby." He sighed heavily. "Normally, any young wolf would be brought into the pack. I suppose I should get a message to Eduardo wherever he is these days. I don't even know what pack he's staying with now. He's changed packs so many times in the last eighteen years. It's insane."

Lucille looked at him as though a thought had just occurred to her. "Jack?"

"Yeah."

"Has he been following Maria and Gabriella? Has he been watching over his mate and his daughter all this time?"

Jack stopped and looked back at her. His mind wandered all the different packs he could remember hearing that Eduardo had been a part of. "Maybe. Wow, I had just thought of him as being the 'lone wolf'. I mean I know he's a Werecat and all, but he just seemed like he couldn't settle anywhere after the pain of losing them. If that's true, where is he now? They've been back in Albuquerque for a year and a half and he hasn't shown at pack meetings?"

She shook her head. A few quiet moments passed before she nuzzled her head against the skin of his chest. "Honey, what will this mean to his schooling and basketball? What if they don't go to the same university? What if they don't stay here? Gabriella is top of their class. It would be insane for her to stay and go to U of A."

Jack nodded as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Honestly, baby, I don't know. Those thoughts were randomly going through my head last night as well. Troy gets too upset at a game, heart rate up, breathing increased. He could end up changing in some noticeable way. And as much as I jokingly enjoy that Teen Wolf movie that Michael J. Fox did in the eighties, this town would not be that receptive."

Lucille chuckled, "And you're nothing like Michael J. Fox's dad." She patted his still trim, relatively firm abdomen.

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, well, that won't matter if some kid freaks out over Troy's eyes or fangs. I may be fit, but I can't fight off the whole town."

Lucille's laughter quieted, the fearful scenario running through her mind. They'd all lived here so peacefully for generations. She had forgotten that they lived day in and day out so very close to losing their comfortable life. "Technically according to pack law _and_ human law they are adults."

Jack scoffed. "I was as much an adult at 18 as I was at 12. But, you're right. They're legal and mated now. In some ways, they're more adult according to pack law than the single males ten years older than he is. I'm going to have to figure out things like territory with him. We're both alphas. We both have mates. Our own home could become difficult."

Lucille sighed, "I'm glad there are no more secrets, but I wish they didn't have to deal with all of this so soon. I wanted them to be able to focus on nothing more than what college to attend and what major to follow."

Jack rubbed his hand down her back gently, "I know, sweetheart, I know."

* * *

Troy rubbed his hand along the outside of her arm. In the middle of the night he'd woken with enough energy to pick her up and carry them both to his bed ten feet away. He'd pulled the covers back and tucked her into his arms again before falling back to sleep. Now, he was thankful for the warmth the covers provided their very naked bodies.

She rolled back and looked at him. She smiled up at his eyes. They were the same sweet ocean blues that had been her refuge for the past couple of weeks. She rolled to face him. "Good morning."

He grinned, "Good morning."

She nuzzled his hand when he stroked along her face. "So, wow, last night was…wow."

He laughed, "Yeah, definitely wow."

She wanted to cuddle with him, but she found herself at a loss for words.

He lifted her chin gently, "Gabriella, I don't know what all you remember, but a lot of things changed last night." He didn't know what to say exactly.

She nodded, "I know." She took a breath and looked at his hair as it gently slid down to hang just above his eyes. She brought her fingers up to run through his hair as he held her with his arms wrapped around her chest. "I remember some kind of transition. Then I remember standing next to you and actually growling at your dad. I remember seeing you turn to come upstairs and knowing that they were separating us. Then I remember being on your mom's lap while she talked and petted me. I broke away from her at a sprint as soon as your dad entered the bathroom with some clothes."

He smiled, "You don't know how happy I was to see my kitten come running through the door."

She blushed and looked down at his chest.

He kissed her forehead and pulled her a little closer. "Oh God, baby, we were having a hard enough time fighting with everyone about our futures before. What the hell is going to happen now?" He kissed her hair lightly and breathed in the scent of her hair.

She let her fingers drift over the skin on his chest. She slowly traced along the tone muscles there. "What will this mean to the decisions we've already made? Can I even go to Stanford? Can I live away from here now? Or are we only really safe here?"

He kissed her with a light press of lips, "What about basketball? Will I even be capable of playing? What about all my scholarships? What do I do if I can't take the scholarships?"

She felt nervousness welling in her chest again. "Just when we think we're getting a handle on things, it all blows out of proportion again."

He squeezed his arms around her gently, "But I still have you, don't I?" His tone of voice betrayed the insecurities he was feeling inside.

She smiled and kissed him lightly again, "You will have me for as long as you want me. Do you remember the last thing we said to each other last night?"

He thought for a moment then shook his head, "No."

She smiled, "You called me 'Mate' and I answered back in kind. I think what happened last night is that we mated as Weres not just as Troy and Gabriella."

He felt something inside him agreeing with her. He had no idea why he felt like she was correct, he just knew she was. "I think you're right, at least it feels like you are."

She looked up at him tentatively. "I love you, Troy." It was her turn to let her voice denote her insecurities.

He grinned, "I love you too, baby…my sweet cat."

There was a pounding on the front door. Someone's fist was banging with considerable force. Troy jumped and wrapped Gabriella up against his chest. Then he heard his mom and dad moving quickly to the downstairs. Troy turned and headed for his dresser. He grabbed shorts and a tshirt for both of them and then took her hand and led her to the head of the stairs. They could look down into the foyer from there.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE! I KNOW SHE WAS COMING HERE LAST NIGHT AND IF YOU DON'T PRODUCE MY DAUGHTER—" Maria pushed past Lucille to just inside the foyer as she obviously looked around for Gabriella.


	17. Showdown

Someone Completely - Chapter 16 - Showdown

There was a pounding on the front door. Someone's fist was banging with considerable force. Troy jumped and wrapped Gabriella up against his chest. Then he heard his mom and dad moving quickly to the downstairs. Troy turned and headed for his dresser. He grabbed shorts and a tshirt for both of them and then took her hand and led her to the head of the stairs. They could look down into the foyer from there.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE! I KNOW SHE WAS COMING HERE LAST NIGHT AND IF YOU DON'T PRODUCE MY DAUGHTER—" Maria pushed past Lucille to just inside the foyer as she obviously looked around for Gabriella.

Lucille looked back at Maria. "Are you afraid we'd disappear with her overnight?"

The insult had obviously struck home as Maria reared back a hand to smack Lucille. Jack stood up straighter, getting in Maria's way, "That's not a good idea."

Maria screamed in frustration causing Troy to take a step back bumping Gabriella just a little bit behind him. That was when Maria took notice of the two standing at the top of the stairs. "Gabriella! Get down here this instant!"

Gabriella shook her head no. All eyes were directed at her now. "No, mama. I won't."

Maria turned to climb the stairs. Jack blocked her. "Maria, they know. We all need to sit down and discuss this rationally."

Maria fumed if getting angrier were possible. "What have you done?" She directed her anger at Jack as though he should have stopped their children from finding out the secrets she'd been running from for years.

"I didn't do anything, Maria. They both transitioned last night."

Maria stood frozen to her spot on the stairs. In a terrified voice she said, "What does transitioned mean?"

Jack sighed. He'd forgotten that she really hadn't learned much from Eduardo before she ran away. "They both transformed into their respective animals last night. That's why Gabriella was allowed to stay here."

Maria crumpled down into a heap. Jack moved to help her, but Gabriella had moved down the stairs at some point and was there to help her mother to the couch. Jack felt his territorial senses go off. His first that was Troy, because he was now between Troy and Gabriella, but one glance at his son told him that wasn't the issue. Troy was staring intently at something beyond him.

Jack looked to the doorway and saw a full grown black Jaguar sitting at the very edge of the doorway. Its deep golden eyes watched the two women on the couch. He was certain that the Jaguar also had a sense of where the other two alpha males in the room were. After all, Eduardo Montez had been an alpha male every bit as long as Jack had.

Troy began slowly making his way down the stairs. He had no idea who the Jaguar in the doorway was, but his dad hadn't reacted yet. So, Troy had decided he'd simply follow his dad's lead. None the less, he was going to be sure that he wasn't caught off guard either.

Lucille had gone to get Maria some water. When she returned to her living room, she nearly dropped the glass as she saw one complete Montez family present.

Jack looked down at the Jaguar and nodded, "Eduardo, you have permission. Come on in, alpha."

Troy watched the interaction keenly. "Dad?"

Jack held up a hand to quiet his son. "You know you're always welcome here," he directed at Eduardo.

The Jaguar nodded and stood to gently trod into the room. He walked over to Gabriella and sat quietly in front of her.

As he did, Maria let out a scream. Gabriella hugged her mother closer. She looked down at the Jaguar very confused. She'd missed the interaction at the door as she'd been trying to calm her mother. Now, she was trying to figure out who was at her feet.

Jack looked at Gabriella's confused expression. "Gabriella, meet your father, Eduardo Montez. Eduardo, this is your daughter, Gabriella. She is also a Jaguar with golden eyes…and my son's mate."

The room went very still. Maria was frozen and Eduardo's eyes were glued to Jack's. Suddenly, the fur was gone and a man lay naked on the floor shaking. Jack grabbed the well used blanket on the back of the couch and tossed it to Eduardo. The other man sat up and wrapped the blanket around him. It had been a very long time since he'd transformed back to his human skin. He'd forgotten how cold it was. "Did you say mate?"

Jack nodded, "They each transitioned last night and before Lucille or I could explain, they…"

Eduardo looked at him in astonishment. "They both transitioned fully in one night? But, Jack, they're too young to transition at all, much less in one night!"

Jack nodded again. "Which is exactly what Lucille and I have been discussing all night and morning. First Troy transitioned out of anxiety and frustration. Then Gabriella showed up and he nicked her with his canines as she tried to comfort him. He got a taste of her blood. Then I tried to separate them, but she got so upset that she transitioned to fight for him. I don't know what happened for her to get a taste of his blood, but when Lucille and I got to them, his hand was bleeding and they were, uh, mating."

Ed shook his head. Maria glared at Troy, "It's your fault! My angel was corrupted by you!"

Gabriella got between her mother and Troy. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't get to blame him for any of this?" Her eyes bore down on her mother. "I love you, mama, but this has nothing to do with him making me do anything. I'm the one who fought to get to him!"

Ed stood up and went to his daughter's side. "She's a Werecat like her father, Maria. It's no one's fault."

Maria's eyes shifted to him. "It has always been your fault, but she'd never showed any signs of this wretchedness until that God awful mutt came near her!"

Jack growled. "He's not a mutt!"

Lucille put a hand on Jack's chest and just as she had done with him and the basketball team in the front yard just days ago, she spoke firmly, but softly. "It's time everyone just retreated to a corner to allow more patient voices to speak."

Troy pulled Gabriella back to him. He stepped back and pulled her into his lap on the oversized chair.

Eduardo was somewhat surprised to see the boy react in the best possible manner. He knew Troy had been raised around the pack, but he hadn't turned his back or his mate's back to anyone in the room as he'd led her a bit away from the fight. Ed looked at Troy and realized for the first time that the "boy" was a man now, for all intents and purposes. He was certainly an inexperienced man, but a man none the less. Ed motioned toward the ottoman as if asking for permission.

Troy nodded. He knew Ed would want to be near Gabriella. They'd only just met for the first time in years. He only hoped that once her mother was dealt with, that she could spend some time with her dad, too.

Jack had moved back toward his own corner for the time being. Lucille still stood at the center of the room. "Now, everyone just take a deep breath. Lucille, I know that this is essentially your worst nightmare come true, but you should remember that in this room, you are the only non-Were. While I have some authority here, all three males are alphas and have considerable stock in protecting your daughter."

Maria turned to Lucille, "But who will protect her from them?"

Lucille shook her head, "Especially now, she needs them as much as they need her. Troy is her mate, Maria. Eduardo is her father. She's going to be going through this whether you want her to or not. No one can change that."

Maria glared at Lucille's soft voice, "You don't know that. She doesn't have to be this way. She's going to Stanford and then she's going to Law School and you _things_ can't change that!"

Gabriella sat up, "Mama, I don't know anything right now. I don't even know why or how I transform. I have so much to learn. I can't go on in my everyday life until I have some understanding of who I am. I might not go to Stanford now. Maybe I should just stay here. Surely U of A would give me a full ride if Stanford will."

Troy grasped her arm to get her attention, "Baby, you can't give up your dreams."

"But, I can't be without you now."

He brushed his fingers along her cheek. "That's part of what I wanted to show you in the treehouse. I have letters of offer from other schools. I wanted you to look at them and tell me if any of them were close to Stanford."

Gabriella nodded. "Do you remember the schools?"

Troy shook his head, "A few, maybe."

Jack looked over at his son, "Just when were you gonna tell me about this?"

Troy looked up at his dad, "When Gabs and I had decided."

Jack raised his eyebrows, "So, your mother and I trying to keep you apart last night was futile, because you were planning to fight life to be together anyway?"

Troy slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. "I wasn't kidding when I said I need her."

Ed chuckled, "I said that once." He looked over at Maria. "But, her mother didn't like it any better coming from me than she likes it coming from you, son."

Troy glanced over at Maria, "You don't get to make her decisions for her."

Maria glared back at him, "Neither do you."

"No, but I do get to make my decisions _**with**_ her."

Maria just glared.

Lucille smiled at her son. Perhaps the kids were a little more ready for this than any of their parents had given them credit for. "Alright, so we've established that they're Weres and a mated pair. They're not sure about where college is going to be right now."

Maria stood. "I won't hear any more of this nonsense. Gabriella it's time to go home. Now!"

Gabriella shook her head. "No mama. I won't go."

Maria walked over to grab her obstinate daughter's arm, but two alpha male Weres growled fiercely at her for the gesture. "She's my daughter. I'm the one who's provided for her and raised her." She argued back to Ed's growl. "She's my daughter. She'll come home with me!" She snarled at Troy.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I won't. I need my Were family as much as you mama. I don't want to lose you, but I can't just turn my head and walk away like you can. This is a part of who I am. You've hidden me away from daddy for too long. I will get to know my father."

Ed smiled down at his daughter, "She will learn that I've never been far away, Maria. She needs her father just as I've told you repeatedly over the years."

Gabriella looked at him astonished, "You've spoken to mama?"

"She'd never let me speak to you. By the way, my little kitten, I am fully aware that you are not the angel your mother believed you to be."

Gabriella blushed. "Uh—"

Ed shook his head, "I'm just glad no damage was done before now." He gestured to Troy, "He's a good mate for you."

Troy smiled proudly. "Yes, we are good together."

Gabriella blushed and just nestled down into his arms.


	18. Normal

Someone Completely – Chapter 17 - Normal

There are moments that change us. They usually happen when we have the least amount of time to stop and acknowledge them. Sometimes we don't even notice that those moments have past.

Troy clutched her hand in his. He pulled it to his mouth and kissed her hand a few times before swinging it back down to his side again. They both smiled at one another as they walked through the student parking lot in a completely normal moment. It seemed like the first completely normal moment they'd had in so very long!

Gabriella actually giggled as Troy stopped and opened the door for her. He bowed slightly. She shook her head, "You are so goofy."

He looked up at her. His laugh lit up his eyes. "I'm glad you think so."

She pulled his hand behind her. He followed like a puppy dog trailing its master. He laughed as she pulled him back to her side. "Damn, Gabs, give a guy a chance to—" He broke out in fresh laughter as she stuck her tongue out at him. "You are ridiculously cute." He pulled her back by their connected hands and kissed her softly. "And I love it!" He kissed her again before they began walking to their lockers again.

They went on with their day. Between classes they met up whenever possible and obviously spent a lot of time during Chemistry enjoying their nearness. At lunch they sat upstairs on the roof together feeding one another a bite of this and a bite of that. They laughed and enjoyed the time together without eyes on them. They kissed now and then and enjoyed holding hands and light touches to each other's face or hair. Through the rest of the day they met up between classes and held hands, continually smiling at the sight of one another. Finally their school day was coming to an end as Troy walked Gabriella out to her car before heading back in for basketball practice.

She laughed, "Oh God it's good to have a gloriously typical day! There was nothing surreal! It's truly sublime!"

He nodded and smiled as she found words to express her happiness at a completely average day. He just watched her. He loved seeing her smile and be almost carefree. He wanted to see that more. His mind was turning. He was looking for ways to keep that amazing smile on her face.

She giggled and turned to look at him.

He loved the way her hair flew out around her shoulders and the way it landed along her face and neck. He found himself wanting to push her into the back seat and have his way with her. He smiled to himself. She had him wrapped around her little finger. He'd known he was in love with her, but he'd never really thought he'd be this guy.

She looked at him with playfully narrowed eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

She raised one eyebrow quizzically. "I'm supposed to believe that?"

He laughed, "Honestly. I'm not thinking about anything, babe."

She narrowed her eyes on him. "No passing thoughts? No brief considerations passed by in the name of propriety?"

He continued to smile as he pulled her to a stop and turned her to face him just a few inches between them. "My sweet, sexy kitten…" He purred into her ear, "Is there something you're thinking about that I should be aware of?"

She felt tingles move through her whole body. Memories of the first day they'd been flirting floated through her mind, the feel of his breath whispering across her skin, and his lips trailing along stimulating her senses. She felt shivers rush through her body. She wanted to tell him that she loved when he did that. She wanted to say, "Don't stop. Say anything, anything at all, just like that!" But, she couldn't speak. His intensity and his closeness sent her mind reeling in the feeling and smell that was uniquely her wolf. "Oh God, Troy…"

He smiled as he trailed the tip of his nose through her hair. He stopped briefly to inhale the smell of her and her shampoo. He loved the way she smelled. He couldn't get enough of the way moaned for him either. "I love you, Gabriella."

She grinned against his shoulder. "I love you too, Troy."

He whispered seductively, "Kiss me, kitten."

She leaned back and lightly brushed a kiss against his cheek. She grinned gave him a smirk. "Like that, Wildcat?"

He looked at her confused. "You're the Werecat, Gabs."

"You're the Werewolf, but you were a Wildcat first." She smiled, "So, you're my Wildcat and I'm your kitten."

He leaned forward to her lips, "That's what I call you when I'd rather have you naked beneath me."

She smiled shyly, "Not here, Troy."

He kissed her slowly. His tongue snuck out and slid slowly along her lower lip. She acquiesced to his suggestion and allowed her lips to part. She moaned softly as his tongue softly tangled with hers. He pulled back from the kiss and without opening his eyes, he leaned his forehead against hers. "Mm…my sweet kitten," he said in a deep rumbling voice, "you taste soooo very good."

She blushed and buried her face in the crook of his neck. After a few moments, she leaned back and nodded to the doorway into the school. "Chad's waiting for you."

Troy turned and glanced up at his best friend. "Oh, damn, practice. I gotta go, babe."

She nodded, "I've got school work to do."

He smiled, "I'll see you later, right?"

She nodded, leaned up and kissed his quickly on the lips. "Come over after practice."

He nodded, "How's your mom?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Still hasn't spoken to me."

He kissed her forehead, "It'll be okay. She just needs time to adjust."

She sighed, "Yeah." She took a deep breath and said, "You've got practice slacker. Get going!"

He smiled and kissed her forehead one more time before turned and jogging toward Chad. He turned and jogged backward for a second saying, "Love you, baby."

She waved, "Love you too." She got in her car and turned it on. She settled her bag in the passenger's seat. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she thought to herself that she wished her mom could be like Troy's parents. Then she smiled as she realized she could always go talk to her dad about it.


	19. Next

Someone Completely – Chapter 18 - Next

Eduardo sat quietly in his small two room apartment literally staring at the wall. Jack as the pack alpha had offered a small place. He'd challenged Ed to remain in his human skin twenty minutes longer each day than the day before. Eduardo had nothing within these four walls except a small mattress on a frame (which Jack had insisted on) and a couple of plates, knives, forks, and cups.

Lucille walked toward the door to the little apartment off of their garage. She had a couple of bags with bows. She'd bought a couple of towels, toothbrush and toothpaste, and showering supplies, including a shower curtain for the small bathroom that stood beside the small apartment kitchen. In another bag, she had some groceries to stock his cabinets and refrigerator in case Gabriella came to see him. She knew Ed had grown more accustomed to hunting than ordering a pizza over the years.

A knock at the door had Ed standing and opening the door. He didn't know what to say, so he simply stood there looking at Lucille.

She smiled, "Hello, Eduardo. May I come in?"

He nodded and stepped aside.

She lifted the bags. "I thought you might need a few things."

He smelled the air and felt his lips curve upwards slightly.

Lucille knew exactly what he smelled. She took the hamburger patties out of the bag and placed them into the freezer. "Do not eat these raw, Eduardo. There are pans in the bottom drawer of the stove." She turned after putting the sodas into the fridge. "Promise me."

He sighed like a frustrated animal and nodded his agreement.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "You'll get the hang of all this again. Just give it a little time."

He shook his head. "I'm trying."

She nodded, "I know. How long have you been able to stand your human skin?"

He shook his head. "Maybe thirty-five minutes."

She gave him a sad, but reassuring smile, "It'll get better. Just focus on the thought that Gabriella will prefer to see her dad like this. That will help."

He nodded, but stayed quiet. There were just too many emotions rolling through him at the thought of his daughter these days. He'd missed her literally since she was born, but now, he was just confused. He wanted to be her dad, but he didn't know how to be her dad.

Lucille opened the other bag and showed him what she'd brought him. "These are for you. Do you need some more clothes yet?"

He shook his head. "I barely wear any at all right now."

Lucille glanced in the closet. "And it looks like Jack loaned you three sets. You should be alright for now. When you're ready for new clothes, let me know."

He nodded.

She smiled and touched his cheek as though scratching behind his ear. "It'll be alright, big cat. Just keep trying. Don't give up."

He wiggled his ear and smiled toward her. "Thank you," he said in a deep timber.

She nodded, "These types of situations are why the pack keeps a little money set aside. Thank the pack at the next meeting, Ed."

He nodded, "I will."

There was a knock on his open door. Gabriella stood just inside the doorway. "Uh, can I come in?"

Eduardo smiled widely, "Yes, of course."

Lucille chuckled. She'd gotten two word answers. Gabriella upon entering got three words. "Well, my dear," she kissed Gabriella on the forehead, "I am heading back into the house to make three dozen chocolate chip cookies before Chad gets here and starts eating the two dozen I made for the school bake sale."

Gabriella chuckled, "Yeah. Good luck keeping at least two dozen safe."

Lucille grinned and nodded. "I'll be inside if either of you need anything."

Gabriella smiled, "Thanks."

Eduardo just nodded.

As Lucille left, she could hear Gabriella and Eduardo start talking much faster and with greater expression than they'd done with her in the room. She smiled to herself and began mentally running through the list of ingredients she had and if she really had enough for an additional three dozen cookies.

Troy wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm band. He bent forward and leaned against his knees. "God, is coach trying to kill us?" Chad looked at Troy from the floor beside Troy. The dark skinned, bushy haired young man slouched and took another drink from his water bottle.

Troy grunted his lack of appreciation for the intensely hard practice his dad was running. His mind wandered, _Dad, Coach, Mr. Bolton, or Alpha, I'm pissed at him either way. Is he trying to force me to get pissed off enough to change in front of the guys?_

Chad hit Troy's calf with a snapped towel.

Troy yipped and ripped the towel from Chad's hand.

"I said, what the hell, dude!"

Troy looked at him with his brow furrowed. "'What the hell,' what?"

Chad rolled his eyes, "He's your dad. Can't you do something about this?"

Troy shook his head, "Would if I could, dude. Dad's on a war path tonight."

"I wanna be able to move enough for a shower when I get home."

Troy chuckled, "I just want to make it home, you know, in one piece."

Chad laughed and stood back up as Coach Bolton moved toward them.

"Are we taking a break, gentlemen? What kind of example is that for your team, Captains?"

Chad looked up at him, "Come on, Coach. This is insane."

Coach Bolton looked over at his son. He was exhausted, not to the extreme the other boys were, but sufficiently tired none the less. What was more important was that Troy's eyes and fangs and claws had all stayed exactly where they should be. Troy was just a boy playing the game that he and his dad loved. Coach looked back at Chad, "Yeah, alright. Let's call it an afternoon, gentlemen. Round up your team."

Chad grinned ear to ear. "Sure, Coach, no problem."

Troy met Coach Bolton's gaze. "Satisfied? Or should we do a stress test just to be sure?"

Jack laughed, "Are you actually doing this or is there even a struggle?"

Troy shook his head. "I'm just thinking about the game."

Jack nodded, "We'll keep an eye open for a while and go from there then. Get out there with your team, Captain."

Troy smiled and nodded. He ran out onto the court and joined in with the huddle of guys. Chad was giving a pep talk about the game on Thursday night. Then the team did their usual cheer and split up to change and head home or wherever they needed to be.

Troy stopped before walking out of the locker room. He stuck his head into his dad's office, "Hey dad, I'm heading over to Gab's for while. I need to see her bad tonight."

Jack looked up, "You're mom just said she's at the house visiting her dad. Why don't you just head home? I thought we'd cook out back tonight, that way everyone's free of territorial frustrations."

Troy nodded, "Sounds good. I am freaking starving."

Jack rolled his eyes, "You will be. If being a teenager weren't enough..." He smiled at his son, "You're gonna eat me outta house and home."

Troy laughed, "Aw, am I gettin' on your nerves already, dad?"

Jack grabbed his bag and shut off his office lights. He ruffled Troy's hair as they walked toward the locker room door. They were laughing as they left the school and each headed to their respective vehicle.

Troy hopped out of his truck and saw that his girl's car was parked out by the street. He smiled. Finally, for the first time in almost a week his life was somewhat back to normal. They still had plenty to deal with, but for today they were just one happy family. He heard his mom giggle and he knew that his dad was enjoying teasing her over something. Then he heard his favorite voice.

"Hey Wildcat! Whatcha' doin'?" She walked up to him and lazily placed her arms around his neck and gently moved her fingers through his hair. She smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her.

He smiled with ease. "Just wondering where my favorite girl was, but now that I've got her right where I want her…." He leaned forward with a knowing look in his eyes. He closed the space and lightly kissed and nibbled at her lips. "I think maybe we're in too visible a space to do what I want to do to her." He softly spoke against her lips. There was a throat that was cleared maybe ten feet away. Troy let his forehead drop to hers. _REALLY! Why? Why is it always…_

Troy smiled and looked up. "Yes, Mr. Montez?"

"She may be your mate, but I would prefer if you didn't say such things to my daughter when I'm in earshot."

Troy nodded, "I can't promise anything, but I'll try. You do understand that I'm not going to break her heart, right? I'm hers every bit as much as she is mine."

Eduardo sighed, "Son, I wish life were always that simple. Just because you are mated does not mean that you'll always feel what you feel now. I only hope for my baby's sake that you two are truly meant to be." The older man turned and walked toward the backyard where Jack was calling his name.

Gabriella felt fear lurk in her stomach_. Her parents._ She had forgotten in all the excitement of becoming Troy's mate and the overwhelming situations bombarding them almost constantly lately. Her father had wanted to mate with her mom? Or, he had mated with her mom? Either way, they were no longer together. She began to worry her bottom lip with her teeth.

Troy looked down at her. He started shaking his head, "Baby, baby, don't even think that! We're okay. We're meant to be, sweetheart. I'm your wolf. You're my kitty-cat. No way we're gonna split. We work way too well together, baby. I love you. And I know that you love me too. Don't be afraid."

She looked up into his eyes. He was sincere. "But, Troy you know that some—"

"Shh…I'm yours, Gabriella. We'll make it. I swear."

She couldn't stop the overwhelming flood of love she felt coming from him. "I know. I can't explain how, but I know that we're right together. It's just something I feel, deep down in my gut. You're the man I'm supposed to be with."

He nodded, "And you're the woman I need and will always need, baby. I love you."

She nodded, "I love you too."

He pulled her closer and just hugged her tightly. He wrapped his arms all the way around her small frame. He picked her up and spun her around in the front yard. He felt his tension ease when he heard her laugh at the feeling of spinning around like a little girl. He set her back on her feet and smiled at her playfully, "Race you to the backyard!" Then he kissed her and took off for the bbq in the back.

She laughed and took off after him.

Chad was ready to explode. First Coach had been tremendously hard on the team in practice. He had just barely been able to drag himself into his house and collapse on the couch. Now his mom was yelling about taking out the trash and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why she wouldn't just leave him alone. There was no way he could possibly look anything but rundown.

"AND HURRY UP, CHAD! YOUR NEW TUTOR IS ON HER WAY HERE!"

Chad groaned and rolled his eyes, "Really mom? A new tutor!"

His mother finally stepped into the same room as her son, "Yes. And, boy, if you don't mind her and what she tells you, I'm gonna whoop you upside the back of that head and then I'm gonna call your grand mama and you know how she gets when you don't mind." His rather beautiful mother just smiled and looked at him. "You know how much I hate it when you make me have to slide into my southern drawl. Now really, Chad, go take out the trash." She stepped back into the kitchen leaving him alone in the living room. He just groaned and dropped back down on the couch.

"TRASH!" Was the only sound that came from the kitchen this time. He groaned, drug himself off the couch, and went to take out the trash.


	20. Terrible

Someone Completely – Chapter 19 – Terrible

Troy met her at her locker. "Hey, baby. How's your morning?"

She shook her head. "I'm late! I'm missing something and I can't figure out what it is! And, to make everything worse, mom decided to start," she did air quotes, "'talking' to me this morning by yelling at me for not coming directly home after school last night and making her worry that I was with 'those people' when I 'explicitly knew' she didn't want me around 'them'! God I hate her sometimes!"

Troy rubbed her back with one hand for a few moments. Then as her movements slowed, he saw her lip quiver, "Come 'mere, baby. Let me hold you."

Gabriella hunched over as she almost fell against Troy. She needed someone to love her right now. "What am I going to do? I always thought my daddy coming to find me would be something so wonderful? And, it is. I just—"

He kissed the top of her head. "You just wish your mom thought so too?"

She nodded, "I wish we were a family like you guys! I don't even need them to be that lovey with each other. I just wish that she wouldn't hate him. Is that really so much to ask?"

He frowned, "I don't know, baby. We weren't there 19 years ago. Maybe you should ask my parents what happened."

Gabriella leaned into her man. "Troy?"

He kissed the side of her head. He hadn't had a chance to _be with her_ again since their first encounter at mating. He hadn't realized until she collapsed against him how much he was wanting that to happen again. Obviously he'd thought about it. He was a guy, he thought about it constantly. But, now his anatomy wasn't cooperating. Of course, staring at her unbelievable ass in that short little mini skirt and thinking about it in front of him the other night before walking over to her hadn't helped him in his current predicament.

She waited another moment, then said, "Troy?"

"Yeah, babe."

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, sweetheart."

She pulled back and looked at him. "Liar."

His eyebrows raised, "Hey, what's with the name calling?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn't take him doing this to her, not now, not today. "There's something wrong that you're not telling me. I know there is. I can't take secrets today Troy!"

He swallowed. "I'm sorry?"

She slammed her locker, "Troy?"

He looked at the floor then back up at her face with a heavy sigh, "I miss you."

She just looked at him. "We're together right now. I didn't leave your house until 10 o'clock last night."

He nodded. He didn't know how to ask for this without sounding like a perv, "No, baby, I mean I _miss_ you. I miss…that."

She just looked at him. "I'm having the worst day ever and you want—I'm not having this conversation right now." She kissed his cheek and turned and left.

Troy let his head drop. His face was parallel with the floor. He was frustrated. He had no idea what he'd been supposed to do. If he'd lied to her again and said nothing was wrong she'd have been pissed. The fact that he told her the truth had made her pissed too. How was he supposed to know what to do to make her happy today? He shook his head as he heard Chad start yelling at someone. Today was going to be a real good day. He checked his watch. First bell was still two minutes away.

Chad fumed, "Damn it, Taylor, I was sleeping last night! I didn't have the ability to keep my eyes open long enough to do the damn homework I had to for grades much less your shit!"

She got in his face, "Then you drink some caffeine until you finish your responsibilities! You just rolled over and went to bed because you didn't want to do it!"

He swung his fist and hit a locker.

Taylor jumped and looked at him with a new sense of fury. "What the hell was that?"

He glared at her, "Destruction of school property." He turned and stormed off. He saw Troy as he did. He sneared, "I'm going to shoot some hoops."

Troy nodded, "I think I'll join you."

Chad nodded and they walked toward the gym, the guy refuge.

* * *

One morning bell and several baskets later, Troy was still listening to Chad vent his rage. At least he had quit launching the ball at the basket as though the hoop was Taylor's head, though. "What the hell was I supposed to do, man? I couldn't stay awake! I was exhausted! What the hell would she know? She's never tried anything physical in her life, much less actually worked as hard as we did last night!"

Troy shook his head.

Chad sat down on the bench. "Why can't she just accept that I'm not as smart as her."

Taylor's voice cut across the gym. "It's not about smart, Chad. If you put nearly as much work into homework as you do into basketball practice, you'd be a straight A student. You're plenty smart. You just refuse to try."

Troy looked up at her. "I'm just gonna…" He started toward the gym doors.

Chad shook his head once his shock wore off. "Tay…"

She walked over the bench. "No, you're plenty smart Chad. No matter how goofy you act sometimes."

Chad turned to her. "I know that I'm not stupid. I just wish you could understand what I mean about being that tired." He leaned forward and let his arm hold him up, supported by his knees.

She rubbed his shoulders. "I do know. I didn't get to bed until 3 am this morning. I'm exhausted, but I had to be here at 7:30 or it was all for naught."

Chad turned to look at her. "Why were you awake until 3 in the morning?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I spent every minute in the evening getting ready to come over and tutor you. I didn't have time to start my own homework until I got home at 9. Then my sister needed help with her homework and I ended up pushing mine to the back burner again until midnight."

He just looked at her over her shoulders. He leaned back and offered her his hand. "Let's take a nap."

She chuckled, "Can't, silly. We're in school."

He laughed, "What classes do you have this morning?"

She shrugged, "Homeroom, then Choir, then Calculus."

He smiled, "Alright, miss smarty pants. What time does third period start?"

She smiled, "9:17."

He grinned, "Come with me, young lady." He took her hand and pulled her gently behind him.

She let him drag her because truthfully, she was too tired to argue anymore and she was curious. _What am I doing? Curiosity killed the cat!_

Taylor couldn't believe her eyes when Chad smiled back at her. There in front of them was an old cot from the nurse's office. It was in the back of the old weight room that was just used for storage now. On said cot was an inviting looking blanket and now an inviting looking boy holding his arms open for her to slide into, if she chose to accept his offer.

Chad had taken a shot in the dark. Taylor never skipped class. She'd never be caught dead sleeping during a school day, but he could see her actually thinking about it now. He didn't have any idea what she was going to do, until she laid herself down against him. He let his arms close around her. He suddenly felt like he was home. It was a weird feeling. All he knew was that he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be right now.

Taylor sighed and felt her eyes drifting closed as her head lay on Chad's chest. His arms made her feel warm and safe. He was right. It was just homeroom and choir. How bad could it really be for her to just sleep for an hour? She'd be better able to handle her real classes when she got to them. Suddenly she jerked upright. "Where's your phone?"

Chad smiled, "You want me to set my alarm?"

She nodded and watched as he showed her his alarm being set. "Okay." She laid back down. "Thank you for this, Chad."

Chad grinned ear to ear. "No, Taylor, thank _you_." But, before he could get any response he felt himself drifting to the same place her deep breathing had taken her.

* * *

Zeke looked over at Troy as they stood outside their English classroom before class started. "Where's Chad?"

Troy smirked, "No idea."

Zeke rolled his eyes, "If he's off with Michelle again then he deserves the F missing class is gonna get him."

Troy laughed, "Listen to you sounding like Gabriella and Taylor."

Zeke rolled his eyes, "Don't dis Tay. She's not as bad as she seems."

Troy turned, "I know you don't mean that Gabriella is in some way bad."

Zeke laughed, "Come on, man. No girl gets any more goody two shoes than Gabi. What's with you?"

Troy just looked at him, "That's my girl, man."

Zeke nodded, "Oh right. God, I gotta get used to that before I get my ass kicked."

Troy just looked at him, "Okay, now you sound like J. What's up, dude?"

"I don't know. My head's just all turned around this morning. I want to jump every girl I see and any girl in a skirt is almost impossible to keep my hands off of." Just then Sharpay sauntered by in a mini and boots.

Zeke turned and actually felt drool pooling in his mouth. "God! I gotta get a grip!"

Troy just laughed, "Nah, man, you gotta get laid."

Zeke rolled his eyes, "God I hate Chad! Why can't I just drag some girl I know will give it to me back to the nurse's cot?"

Troy laughed, "You don't know what Chad's doing right now, man. He could walking this way for all you know."

Zeke turned to see what Troy was looking at as Chad walked up next to them. "Gentlemen! God it's such a good day, isn't it!" He smiled and turned to head into the classroom.

Troy laughed, shook his head and walked in behind Chad. Zeke groaned and followed suit.


	21. Partytime!

Someone Completely – Chapter 20 – Partytime!

Troy walked into the party. She'd called from Zeke's party twenty minutes ago and told him to meet her there. He looked around the living room that was now the dance floor. He saw a few heads with dark black hair, but none that were hers. He moved through to the kitchen. He spotted Taylor walking back out to the patio with two cups in her hands. He caught up with her easily. He quickly moved to catch her elbow as she stumbled. He took the two drinks from her hands and motioned for her to put her arm around his shoulders. "Come on, party girl. Let's get you somewhere you can fall down and really hurt yourself."

Taylor giggled, "Oh Troy, you're such a drama king."

Troy laughed to himself. "You seen Gabs?"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Oh you mean little miss pines a lot? She won't start drinking until you get here." She thought for a second, "Oh wait! You're here! Gabs can start drinking! Take those cups to her! She needs 'em more than I do."

Just as Taylor finished her declaration, Troy found Chad sitting in a chair. "Hey man, I think I found your girl."

Chad hopped up. "Hey! I wondered where you had disappeared to!"

She smiled and dropped into his lap as he sat back down. "Needed another drink and a little girls' room break." She giggled and leaned down to bury her face in Chad's shoulder.

Judging by the look of supreme satisfaction and sheer pride on Chad's face, Troy had a feeling he didn't mind the situation at all. He chuckled as he met eyes with Chad, "Seen my girl?"

Chad gestured behind them with a backwards nod of his head. Then, he turned his face toward Taylor and they started whispering to each other.

Troy slipped away and went searching for his baby girl. Finally a few minutes later, he spotted her by the pool. He walked down there. Several people were outside. The party was huge. He slipped up behind her and smoothly wrapped his arms around her waist dipping his head to kiss along her exposed neck.

She instantly jerked backwards and threw whoever was hitting on her now into the pool in front of her. _God! I can't wait for Troy to get here!_ Then she looked down…at Troy…in the water…where she'd—"OH GOD! BABY! I'M SO SORRY!"

Troy actually laughed as she jumped into the pool to get to him faster. As she curled herself around him, arms around his shoulders, legs around his waist, he smiled and said, "At least I know you aren't letting just anyone get their hands on you when I'm not around."

She shook her head, "I'm sorry. I've just had so many ridiculously drunk guys offer to _solve my virginity problem_ for me tonight! I finally just got pissed and started swinging first."

He smiled in a way that would have made anyone else fear for their life. "Just point them out and I promise they'll never bother you again, baby."

She just looked him directly in the eye and shook her head.

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh hell yes! Any guy tries to touch you, any—Fuck!" He couldn't even say the words because the image of some other guy trying to come up on her like he had just done made his blood boil and his eyes see red.

She brushed her hand down his now soaked hair. "Shh…Troy it's okay. Calm down now. No one got anywhere. None of them hurt me in any way. I wouldn't let them. So, just shh…I'm alright, my wolf."

Troy felt his body wanting to shift. The intensity of practice the other day had been nothing compared to the overwhelming urge he had now to shift and beat the hell out of some stupid little teenage boys. He shook his head, "God, college parties are going to be a trip, huh?"

She just looked at him. "We'll be expected to show up at some of them, baby."

She smiled, "So, your dad okayed you to play?"

He chuckled, "Why do I feel like I haven't seen you all week?"

She smiled and rubbed her soaking wet body up and down the front of his torso. She whispered into his ear, "Because in so many ways…you haven't, baby."

He groaned at the excitement she was causing in his body. "Something you need from me, kitten?"

She grinned devilishly. "Oh, yeah." She whispered seductively into his ear, "Fuck me right here, Troy."

He moved swiftly to the side of the pool and planted her against the side. In a deep, rough voice he said, "Don't tempt me, Pussycat."

She laughed and wiggled her pussy against his crotch. "Give it to me. I want it, troy. Give me what I want!"

He slid his hands up her skirt and realized she was only wearing a tiny little G-string. He caved to her wishes. He slipped his fingers into her pussy and buried his mouth against the skin of her neck. He softly growled as he got his pants out of the way and just far enough down to get himself into her. He pushed up into her pussy hard. He'd wanted sex all week. He'd be at a loss trying to figure out if he should seduce her or ask for it or just shift and try. He'd been frustrated. Now here she was begging him for it in the pool in the middle of a party.

She moaned for him. "Yes, Troy!"

His breathing was heavy. This wasn't as easy as it looked. He was working hard, but he was getting all the feeling he wanted. He felt her feet tighten around his backside as her heels dug into his skin.

"More, baby, please!"

Troy thrust himself in as deep as he could. As deep and as fast as he could, he fucked her right there. He kissed her roughly just before he came. He did it so that he could bite her lip to taste her blood. He kissed her fiercely as his body released into hers. He shuddered and collapsed over her for a moment. Then he realized how quiet the backyard had gotten. He heard her whisper to him, "Thank you."

He leaned back and looked at her confused. He looked up and realized that several students had just seen him take her. He felt like a puppet. His fears of girls only wanting him because of his Captain status flashed in his mind. Had he been a fool? Had she really only consented to this to be popular here? He adjusted himself and fastened his pants. He dove into the water and quickly swam to the ladder. He bolted for his truck, but before he could get there she was yelling at him from across the front yard.

"YOU'RE LEAVING? WHAT THE HELL?"

He spun around. He got in her face. "What the hell was that, Gabriella? Fuck Mr. Basketball at a party so everyone knows you're cool?"

She looked at him as though he were insane.

"Don't ever cheapen what we have again!"

She widened her eyes. "That's what you think just happened? Jesus!"

He looked back at her, "Then enlighten me, Gabs! What the fuck was that?"

She glared at him, "Me claiming you!"

He looked at her and sneared, "You already had me!"

"Every girl in the school was just waiting for you to get cock-starved and show up to a party where they could best me at being the bad girl you wanted! I was making sure that everyone here knew that I could satisfy you! That the girl's saw you wanting me and getting everything you needed from me! Because they needed to know that I can be your bad girl too!"

He looked at her with an expression that showed he was trying to digest what she was saying, but that the words hadn't unraveled their meaning to him yet. Then his eyes changed to that look of comprehension. "Baby, I don't give a damn what any of the girls here think. I only give a damn about you."

She shook her head, "That wasn't about what you think of them, Troy! I had to make them understand that you are mine! They needed to know that you're mine all the time, even at parties!"

He smiled, "You were staking your claim on me?" He slid his arms around her waist and his face showed a very cocky expression.

She felt like she was gonna scream. "And it was working, right up until you stormed away from me."

He looked confused. "What do I need to do to confirm that I belong to you?" He leaned down and kissed her pouting lips lovingly. He pulled her flush against him. "Hmm…tell me baby. Anything you need me to do, I'll do it. You want me to make love to you, slow and sweet right here?"

She giggled, "You don't have to do anything else, baby."

He leaned up and looked at her with a furrowed brow. "Huh?"

She smiled, "We have an audience."

He chuckled, "God you girls are so damn confusing."

She laughed, "Girls? You do understand why I threw you into the pool, right?"

He growled as his jealousy flashed through his eyes, "I wasn't kidding. Just point any of them out and I swear to God—"

She kissed his lips, "Ease up, my wolf. Everyone here, guy or girl is fully aware of who belongs to whom now."

He smiled, "You're brilliant."

She pressed back into the kiss he was laying on her lips now. "Thank you."

He picked her up bridal style and started carrying her back toward the back yard. Two girls giggled as he moved pasted the porch. He looked up and they were looking him over. Before he could say anything she on her feet in front of him, guarding him.

"He's mine, so go look for some other fuck!"

They rolled their eyes and started whispering that she was a total bitch. Troy stepped up sniped at them. "Leave her out of this!" The two girls turned with obvious gestures of sexual approval. They looked him over and started toward him. Suddenly, he thought maybe ducking behind his kitten was safer.

Gabriella let him wrap his arms around her from behind. "Get lost!" She directed at the girls. They turned and scrambled away again.

* * *

Chad nibbled her ear. He kissed down her neck. He wanted into those clothes so bad. Just then her phone rang. Instead of letting her answer it sounding obviously drunk, he snatched it from her hand. "Hello?"

"Where the hell is my daughter?"

Chad gulped, "Uh, she's in the bathroom right now. She just left her phone here at the table."

The voice ease, "Oh. Alright. Well if you'd be so kind as to bring her home in the next hour or so, I'd appreciate it, Mr. Danforth."

Chad's eyes exploded, "Uh, sir?"

"I know your father better than I'd like to most days. You sound exactly like him on the phone. By the way, behave yourself around my daughter. She's a good girl."

Chad glanced at the very drunk girl he had literally curled in his lap and around his neck. "Uh, I'll try, sir."

"Good. She'll kill me for saying what I have, so good night, Chad."

"Good night, sir." He hung up the phone and let out a huge breath. "Oh my god, you are never getting drunk on me again!"

She giggled in his ear and kissed along his jaw line. She let one of her hands run along his chest.

Chad felt his eyes drifting closed as he thoroughly enjoyed her touches. "I take it all back. Drink up, baby."

Zeke turned the corner and nearly fell into Chad and Taylor. He caught himself by grabbing onto Taylor. Without intending to, he grasped her hip and her tit.

Chad growled was on his feet. He couldn't control himself. He had Zeke against the side of the house in seconds. Troy came up from behind him and knocked him along the back of the head. "Let him go, nimrod!"

When Chad turned to glare at Troy, Troy got a good look at this eyes. "SHIT!" He whipped out his phone and hit speed dial 2. "Dad, we're about to have a very ugly problem here! I need you at Zeke's like two minutes ago!"

Jack groggily said, "What?"

Troy handed the phone to Gabriella and said, "Black eyes." He turned and started trying to be sure that Chad didn't kill Zeke for touching what Troy could only imagine Chad saw as a mate potential.

Gabriella looked at the phone, "Uh, Troy is trying to break up a fight between Chad and Zeke, but Chad is about to get really FURious. His pupils have dilated to what looks COMPLETELY black." She could hear Jack relaying to Lucille and both rushing around.

Jack spoke to Lucille, "Get Ed to meet us there in fur in ten minutes."

Gabriella was beginning to wonder what that was going to do to the party.

Jack turned back to the phone call with Gabriella, "Tell Troy to order Chad down. Tell Chad he's not allowed to hurt anyone."

Gabriella shouted the message to Troy.

"And Gabriella, start breaking up the party."

She nodded, then remembered he couldn't see her. "Okay. You'll be soon, right? I'm afraid Chad's going to hurt Troy."

"Don't get scared, Gabriella. Troy's the alpha for your generation. Chad's family is a part of this pack. God, we still have so much to explain to you kids."

Gabriella agreed then said her goodbyes as she heard Jack's car start.


	22. Outside

Someone Completely – Chapter 21 – Outside

Gabriella went inside and shut off the music. She stood on the coffee table. "LISTEN UP! THE PARTY'S OVER! COACH BOLTON AND SOME OTHERS ARE ON THERE WAY! IT'S TIME TO BAIL EVERYBODY!"

People started scattering as they grabbed belongings and friends they'd come with before bolting for the door.

One girl stopped as she looked out back at the boys in a fighting stance. "What's going on out there?"

Gabriella spoke loudly, "The reason that Coach is a few minutes away!"

Anyone who'd stopped to look began moving frantically again.

As Gabriella saw Jack jogging to the backyard, most of the party goers were getting into cars. Gabriella started checking rooms for stragglers. She had a feeling that they weren't going to want anyone around who didn't already know things.

* * *

Jack joined Troy who was currently standing between Zeke and Chad. Zeke looked like a drunk kid who had no idea why he was in a fight. Chad on the other hand looked like a man possessed or at least a man ready to fight for his territory.

Jack watched Chad snarl, "LET ME KICK HIS ASS!"

Troy growled back, "NO! You are not allowed to fight Zeke! He's not one of us, yet!"

Chad just glared at him, "HE'S ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF US! AND HE TOUCHED MY GIRL!"

Troy growled a little louder.

Chad backed down a bit.

Jack started moving to box Chad in. They needed to get Chad in a place where he couldn't bolt out away from them if he got the idea.

Chad glared at Zeke over Troy's shoulder.

Troy stayed at the ready.

Taylor surprised everyone by touching Chad's arm. "Chad? Why are you doing this? He was just trying to keep from falling."

Chad's brow furrowed as a small wave of confusion rushed over him. "He touched you?" His voice explained that he didn't understand why Zeke touching her at all wasn't reason enough for him to attack one of his best friends.

Taylor stumbled a little as she tried to ease her way forward. Before she could contemplate catching herself, Chad had her wrapped softly in his arms and was looking into her eyes. His features soften immensely. "Tay…"

Gabriella stepped out onto the patio again now that she was satisfied that everyone else was gone. "Hey guys, what's going—"

Chad quickly looked up at her and growled harshly. He started to let go of Taylor and move toward Gabriella as though she were a threat, but Troy growled a full warning and was between Chad and Gabriella in a split second.

The next thing anyone knew a large, soft brown, long-haired wolf stood in front of Gabriella growling fiercely at Chad. Chad began slowly backing away a small, measured step at a time. He kept Taylor behind him too.

Troy took a step to the same side Gabriella did as she began to retreat to Jack's side. She could fight right beside him, but this seemed like a good time to let him reign in his own best friend. She motioned for Zeke to edge into the house and Taylor to join him. They appeared to understand and as the two friends faced off and began circling each other, the other two friends desperately tried to keep out of notice as they attempted their escape.

Jack watched tensely. He wasn't sure if Troy was simply trying to force Chad through pure animal dominance, or if this was about to be a fight with two exceptionally strong, young wolves with no control over their emotions.

Chad stepped in time with Troy. They each sniffed at the air. Chad hadn't quite made the full transition yet, but his body had started changing and his mind had made the transition. He was thinking like an animal right now.

Troy eyed his friend. He'd been a threat to everyone tonight, but he'd made his wrong move when he'd moved toward Troy's mate. No one threatened Gabriella. No one.

Chad snipped in Troy's direction and growled.

Troy watched him for any sign of opening. At the first sign of weakness, Troy was going to put Chad on his ass. Just then, Chad stepped wrong and glanced down toward his feet. Troy launched himself and put Chad on his back with Troy over top of him.

Chad began to fight back, but to no avail, because Troy had one claw unsheathed next to his throat. Then Chad heard Troy's voice as he laid there and watched all but Troy's paw over his throat change back to his friend. "You stubborn piece of—I ought to gut you like the animal would have me do. You know she's mine! You know beyond any shadow of a doubt that no one will hurt her unless it's over my dead body!" He leaned down into Chad's face and said in a very cold voice, "Don't ever threaten her again."

Chad regained some control over his thoughts, "But I'm supposed to let Zeke feel up Taylor?"

Troy shook his head, "No, but what he did was an accident. What you did was not. You're not her mate yet, Chad. You have no real claim to protect her."

Chad growled, "Mate? What the hell are you talking about?"

Just then Chad's dad arrived with Ed who was still in fur. "Chad Evan Danforth!"

Chad looked up, "Dad?"

Mark Danforth looked down at his son. "Your mother has those black eyes when she shifts too. Alright boy, now that your alpha has put you down, it is time to go home. I imagine you have a wealth of questions after tonight."

Chad looked marvelously confused. Troy backed off of him, allowing him to stand. Chad followed his dad to the car. He turned and looked back at Coach Bolton and Troy, who was now holding Gabriella to him. He got in the car and they drove away.

Jack turned to the young mates. "Go home, I'll have Taylor join us at the house and see if I can get Zeke into bed before he hurts himself."

Troy looked back at his father, "I drove. Why don't we take Taylor home with us?"

Jack nodded, "If she'll go. She did just see you shift, Troy. And it was her boyfriend you were about to fight."

Troy nodded, "How about Gabriella drives them to the house in her car then and I'll follow them."

Gabriella nodded, "That can be arranged." When Jack walked inside to find Taylor, Gabriella turned and punched Troy's arm. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

He chuckled, "What was that?"

She frowned, "I thought you and Chad were gonna hurt each other and you know how defensive I get over you!"

"God I love when you worry about me." He kissed her forehead.

She rolled her eyes, "It's only because I love you, you nimrod."

He chuckled. Then Taylor came to the back door with huge eyes that had obviously sobered in a hurry.

* * *

As they pulled up to the Bolton house, Taylor caught her breath and remained frozen. She'd been terrified of Troy the second she'd laid eyes on him again. She'd been willing to let Gabriella walk her to her car and get her into the passenger's seat. She'd refused to speak to anyone. All in all she looked like she was in complete and utter shock.

Troy pulled his truck in behind Gabriella on the side of the street. He waited for the girls to go inside before he got out of the truck. He'd never had the chance to be around anyone who didn't already know what he was when they found out. Suddenly his mother's foreboding warnings when he was a child made sense. "You just never know when everyone could change their minds and suddenly not like you. Don't hang your worth and confidence on everyone else's opinions, Troy."

Troy sighed. Things seemed to be getting increasingly complicated and each time it seemed like they couldn't get any worse, they did. He jumped at the fingers tapping at his truck door window. He smiled at Gabriella, "Hey baby. Sorry. I got lost in thought waiting for Taylor to get inside."

Gabriella smiled, "Thanks for waiting though. She's shaking and terrified. I literally don't know what to say to her. I mean 'It's alright' just doesn't seem appropriate, you know?"

Troy nodded, "God, do I ever. I don't think she'll ever look at me the same again. I mean we've never really been that close, but still." He ran a hand through his hair and smirked as she opened the door and turned his knees toward her. "Should I lay back?"

Gabriella laughed, "You wish." She leaned up between his legs. I just need you to hold me for a moment before we go in there and deal with the newest obstacle."

Troy smiled and wrapped his arms and legs around his girl. He pulled her up into the seat with him and held her closer. He kissed her lips. "I miss the good ole days when we were screaming at mom and dad and Chad about where I was going to college."

She chuckled, "You mean two weeks ago?"

He sighed and let his head drop down onto her shoulder. "Has it really only been two weeks? God! It feels like two years ago!"

She laughed, "They say the mind is the second thing to go—"

He laughed, "Ha, ha, and you can't remember what the first one is?" He hugged her tighter for a moment before looking up at his dad's car pulling into the driveway. Something in his gut told him the surprises weren't over for the day.

* * *

Jack got out of the car and tried desperately to calm the fuck down. He slammed his hand into the side of the car, effectively denting it. He turned and looked at the two young Weres who he was currently furious with. "Get over here now! Both of you!"

Troy looked at Gabs. Both were obviously confused. They walked over toward Jack. Troy, however, was keeping a firm grasp on Gabriella. His stomach was in knots now. He was sure something was wrong, but he didn't know what could have pissed his dad off at both of them or pissed him off so much. "What's up, dad?"

Jack took a few deep breaths. "I never, EVER, want to see a video of the two of you doing anything EVEN REMOTELY close to what I just saw on youtube at that party tonight! Zeke got a message pop up while I was getting him situated. He was watching a video of the two of you in his family's pool tonight!" He turned to Troy, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

Just then Lucille came out the front door. "What is going on out here?" She walked up to Jack. "Honey? What is it?"

Jack was furious. So furious that he was actually tongue tied. "You explain this to her! I refuse!"

Troy swallowed hard. "Uh, well, see, we, uh—"

Gabriella cut him off, "I seduced Troy into a very public display of, uh, our feelings at the party tonight and apparently someone shot a video of it and posted it on youtube and sent notices to several people including Zeke who was watching it when Dad walked into the room."

"How public and what kind of display, Troy?"

Screw seven shades, Troy was currently twenty different shades of red. "Uh, well—"

Gabriella spoke up again. "We were, uh, in the pool together and…well, uh, well—"

"We were having sex, mom." Troy looked at the ground. He couldn't say that and meet her eye. He couldn't meet anyone's eye right now.

Lucille covered her mouth with her hands. After a moment of letting that thought digest, she said, "Oh dear, well that didn't go well, did it?"

Troy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No."

Jack walked away. He let himself into his garage and proceeded to beat the heavy weight bag hanging in there. A few minutes later, he sighed and leaned against it. He heard Lucille walk in.

"You need to talk to him and I obviously need to talk to her. And we all need to talk to Taylor."

"Why does this feel like it's quickly spinning out of control?" Jack's voice was heavy and weary.

Lucille ran her hands along her husband's back. "Because we're dealing with teenagers, sweetheart. They're old enough to make adult mistakes without fully understanding their consequences yet."

Jack shook his head, "None of this was supposed to happen now. He's supposed to be talking to college recruiters and arguing with me over where he wants to spend the next four years. Not negotiating young Weres transitioning in the middle of a party or sex tapes on the internet. He's not supposed to deal with sex tapes until he's in the damn NBA!"

Lucille chuckled, "So you have his entire life planned out for him after all."

Jack turned, "No! No, I just—I just don't want all of this responsibility on him so young. He doesn't deserve this, Luce!"

Lucille smiled, "I know that. So does he. But, Jack, it's here and we have to find a way to deal with this before it's more scarring than it's already become."

Jack just looked at her, "What if I don't know how to deal with this? What if I can't protect him? What if I never get the chance to?"

Lucille looked him solidly in the eyes, "We both love Troy dearly. He's our son. He's made of strong stuff, Jack. And _you_ are never in this alone. _You_ do not protect him, _**we**_ do."

Jack let out a breath. "I love you."

She nodded confidently. "I love you too. Now, let's get in there before Troy goes in and scares the bejesus out of Taylor."

Jack nodded and followed his mate inside.


	23. Negotiation

Someone Completely – Chapter 22 – Negotiations

Lucille stroked her hair. "Honey none of this is easy. Life isn't easy. There are some things that happen to us and there are some things that we cause. No one controls everything. Everyone is less than perfect at something, no matter how it looks." She smiled softly at the younger woman sitting next to her. "You're not always meant to know what will come. The future is a mystery so that we don't get too cocky or too depressed to make the decisions we need to make today. It's nice to think that if we 'just knew' everything would be easier, but it's simply not true. If we knew things like hope wouldn't exist and the world just wouldn't be a happy place without possibility."

Gabriella analyzed her finger nails. "I'm just so confused. I want to figure out what to do, but I don't know. Every time I think I know what's going to happen, every time I think I have the answers, everything turns upside down!"

Lucille smiled knowingly. "Patience Gabriella. There is no one right answer to life. Life requires us to balance all kinds of evolving questions and answers."

She looked up at the older woman, "But I am patient! I do everything I'm supposed and the one time I do something spur of the moment, the one time I act rash, it undoes everything I've spent years creating! Why does one moment get to define me instead of be the exception to the rule?"

Lucille's eyes filled with the sad knowledge that could only be produced by empathy. "Darling, people look for the flaws in others. It makes them think that their flaws aren't so unique. It's foolish. It's a sad commentary on the current social structure in our society. But, it's true none the less."

Gabriella felt tears coming to her eyes, "I never meant for this to happen, mom."

Lucille hugged her close. "I know, Gabriella. I know."

* * *

Troy sat in his room on his bed. Jack paced the floor. "What were you thinking?"

Troy sat staring at the floor. He'd never wished he could see through it to the living room before now. He shook his head, "I wasn't thinking, dad. I wanted her. That's all that was going through my head."

Jack shook his head, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED?"

Troy just looked up at his dad. "NO! I DON'T, BECAUSE YOU AND MOM HAVEN'T TOLD US ANYTHING!" He forced himself to calm down. "Look this can't be any easier for you guys than it is for us to deal with. We were supposed to be older before this happened. But, Dad, that's all Gabriella and I really know. We don't know how to control the shifts. We don't know how to navigate the stupid social crap. We don't even know what to do with our own futures! Every time we make some decision, life makes that decision impossible! I just want to be with my mate! I want to be close to her, NO MATTER WHAT! I know I NEED an education! I know I NEED to deal with the wolf aspect of my life now! I know I NEED to learn how to control all of this! But, damn it, Dad! It's my _**body**_ that's ruining my life! How the hell am I supposed to know what to do, much less control it!"

Jack had stopped pacing and just looked at his son. He saw a younger version of himself sitting on an older bed while his own father paced in front of him. He remembered this conversation, but he'd been 25, not 18. "Troy…" He sighed, "Alright. Here's how we fix some of this. Tonight, you and I and mom and Gabriella sit down and we talk. Tomorrow the four of us is all about asking questions and answering questions. I'm officially declaring everything on the table. I've been expecting you to act like an adult, but not treating you like one."

His dad ran his hand through his hair just exactly the way Troy often did. Troy smiled as he recognized consciously for the first time where he had learned that gesture. "Alright, but one thing."

Jack laughed, "You're negotiating with me?"

Troy sat up straighter, "If I'm an adult in this situation, then I have a right to be heard, right?"

Jack smiled with a more accepting, but appraising expression, "Yes. What condition do you have in mind, son?"

Troy looked his dad back eye to eye. "Gabriella and I can't be afraid of getting in trouble for anything revealed in answering questions, or asking them for that matter. I propose amnesty for anything revealed tonight or tomorrow."

Jack raised one eyebrow as he considered the condition his son put forth. "Alright. Amnesty. I need to talk this over with your mother before I declare it official, but I'll ask."

Troy nodded, "Can Gabriella please come up here so that we can talk while you and mom confer?"

Jack smiled, "We'll see."

Troy sat on his hands, "We'll behave, I promise."

Jack smiled in a teasing manner. "Right."

* * *

Gabriella listened as Lucille said, "Alright well I suppose we should move on to more specific matters, like how to deal with Taylor."

Jack came down the stairs, "Lucille?"

Lucille turned toward the hallway entrance of the kitchen where she and Gabriella were now residing. "Yeah?"

Jack smiled as he strolled into the kitchen. It was a scene that he'd never thought he'd see. It almost looked for a second like a mom talking to her little girl. "I need to confer with you." He turned toward Gabriella, "Could you go keep Taylor company for a little while?"

Gabriella eagerly hopped up and proceeded up the stairs two at a time. Jack turned back to Lucille, "Troy and I were just talking and we came to the conclusion that we need a day to ask questions and answer questions about everything and anything." He continued, "We haven't had a chance to just sit down with the kids and tell them all that they will need to know. Troy made a request though. He wants amnesty for anything discussed tonight or tomorrow. I told him I'd confer with you before anything was official." He looked up at his mate, "I think we owe them this, Luce. We've been kind of expecting them to act like the 'adult' wolves that a mated pair is supposed to be, but we haven't really been letting them be human adults, much less given them the knowledge they need to be adult wolves, or wolf and cat as the case may be."

Lucille watched Jack as he stated his case. "I think that is a great idea, but did either of you consider what is going to happen to Gabriella if her mother hears of any of this?"

Jack sighed, "The thought didn't ever occur to me, no."

Lucille let out a heavy breath. "She's such a good girl. I hate that their intimate time at the party is being displayed like this."

Jack ran his hand through his hair before wrapping his arms around her. "We never had the possibility of the internet when we were kids, honey. It's hard enough to be young and make mistakes. It's even harder when all anyone has to do to break your reputation is post one bad moment for the world to see."

Lucille hugged Jack closer. "I don't envy them. They're still making mistakes. I mean they're supposed to their young, but God, Jack. As if they didn't already have enough to deal with, now they're dealing with their own generation of wolves? I mean Chad changing right there at the party? Troy couldn't have known what to do! He'd barely even changed himself."

Jack nodded, "I'm just glad they called us and didn't try to handle Chad themselves."

Lucille nodded, "How was Mark when you talked to him?"

"As fine as he could be. He said that he'd love to get together with me and Ed this week to figure out how we're going to handle the kids all changing as far as parenting goes. I mean this has never happened as far as I know. There's not exactly parenting manuals on getting your kid through Werewolf transitions and into college."

Lucille nodded against his chest. "We'll figure it out."

Jack nodded, "We have to, but I really think that's going to begin with communication. I think this all has to begin tonight with an open, honest talk."

Lucille leaned back just a little bit, "Do you think we should call in Ed and Mark and Chad?"

Jack thought for a moment. "For tonight, I think we need to help Taylor. Then we can give Ed and Mark more knowledge of how to help their own families after we've had our family day tomorrow. Plus, we might be able to help Troy learn how to help his generation of Weres. He's an alpha. Helping transitioning wolves is part of that duty."

Lucille nodded, "Alright, but I think we all need to sit down together soon."

Jack nodded, "Sounds like you should make dinner plans with Rita for an evening this week and drag Ed into the house for it too."

Lucille smiled, "I'll tell him we need to work on his table manners."

Both of them chuckled, Ed hated one thing for sure, being told to work on human social interaction. None the less, he treated Lucille like the pack mother that she was and always did as told.


	24. Before

Someone Completely - Chapter 23 – Before

Lucille held Taylor's hand as Ester and Zacaria McKessie came to collect their confused daughter. Taylor had managed to digest some of the news. It was clear by the expressions on her face that she only actually registered some of the ideas that had been given to her. Mainly she was told by the very loving voice of Troy's mom that she was completely 100% safe. Taylor clearly wasn't sure she trusted such a source for that information.

Gabriella had been the person Taylor had clung to. Taylor let Gabriella lead her out to her parent's car. She gave Gabriella a fierce hug and said, "I wish you were spending the night, but it sounds like you don't mind being here." Taylor wiped fresh tears from her face. "Why aren't you scared, Gabi?"

Gabriella smiled softly. "It's a long story. Suffice to say that I already knew about all of this. I've had longer to deal with it than you have, not much longer, but enough time to cope. We'll talk more at school. In the meantime, just go home and curl up in your warm bed and rest."

Taylor nodded and got into the back seat. "Bye, Gabi."

Gabriella smiled, "Bye Sweetie." Gabriella closed the door and watched the McKessie's pull away. It seemed like that was all she was doing tonight, shipping her friends off in their parent's vehicles. She waved as the car turned at the stop sign. Then, she went back inside and picked up her cell phone. "Hey Mom, so I'm going to stay with Dad tonight." Her cell phone rang on another line.

When Gabriella answered, all Maria said was "No!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Yes, I am. I'm eighteen, mom. I'm not asking permission. I'm trying to be courteous and let you know that I won't be home this evening."

"As long as you're still in school and claiming my residence as 'home,' you will be in it when I tell you to be. And right now I'm telling you to get your ass home, you snot nosed little brat!"

Gabriella laughed, "Wow, why wouldn't I want to come home to that? You know what, good luck enforcing that, mama. I'm done playing your unhealthy, little, petty, possessive game. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

Gabriella turned around and found Troy watching her quietly. She felt her eyes fill with tears she wouldn't be able to hold back.

Quietly he walked toward her. He gently wrapped his arms around her body and held her close to him. He held her up as she began to break down. Neither said anything. There was too much to say and too many things to feel. He kissed the side of her head and let her cry silently into his chest as he gently swayed her back and forth in his arms.

A large black Jaguar with yellow eyes rubbed up against their legs. Gabriella smiled sadly and bent down to scratch behind her dad's ears. "She's just being difficult because she can't cope. She always gets angry when she's out of control. That's usually when we'd move again."

The Jaguar nuzzled her cheek and licked it. Gabriella felt Troy's hand run through her hair at the top of her head. He was watching her lovingly. His eyes held a softness that Gabriella was slowly beginning to accept, not that she'd told Troy that.

Lucille stepped out. "Well hello, Eduardo. How are you this evening?'

Ed made a circle of rubbing against Gabriella. "He's trying to comfort me. Mom and I just fought again. Now she's basically telling me I have to choose between her and, well, this."

Lucille nodded, "We have a lot to talk about…in the morning. For now, your father is contacting youtube and the school to let them know what's going on. I want you two to go upstairs and relax for a while before you get to bed." She turned to Gabriella, "I assume you need to stay, honey?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yes, thank you."

Lucille smiled, "You know you're always welcome. You're basically my daughter now too, right?"

Gabriella smiled sadly, and accepted the embrace Lucille gently offered. "Thanks."

Lucille kissed her on the top of the head. "It's no problem at all, darling. Now, go rest. We'll start dealing with the family stuff tomorrow."

Troy walked up and took Gabriella's hand and led her into the house. Ed looked up at Lucille expectantly. She knew what he was waiting for. "No. We need to discuss things as a family unit first before we start trying to bring in the rest of us."

The Jaguar whined and rubbed a paw over his muzzle as though disagreeing with her words.

"Now, Ed, really."

Another negative whine from the cat left Lucille sighing. Jack smiled to himself as he assessed the situation while walking toward them. He dropped his voice, "Ed, you're not being difficult with my mate, are you?"

Eduardo huffed as though to say he wasn't the one being difficult, she was. Ed turned and trotted off to the back of the house. Had it been a night with a moon, he'd have only come out as human, but this was a moonless night and he was feeling very furry.

Lucille eased into the open arms of her mate. "Oh dear, what a day!"

Jack kissed the top of her head. "I thought we old married people were supposed to be boring?"

Lucille chuckled, "When have you ever been boring, Jack?"

* * *

Troy kissed her softly as he leaned over her where she lied on the bed. His feet were sliding on the carpet below because he had to reach so far over the bed to kiss her. He grinned as she giggled at him losing his balance.

"That's some stellar balance you have there." She said between laughs.

He nodded, "Yep. You'd think since I am an athlete and a werewolf, I'd be better."

She giggled again as he pecked a quick kiss to her lips. He nuzzled against her cheek. "I love you, baby."

She smiled, "Love you too."

He leaned down and slowly, softly put his lips to hers. "MMmmm…" He looked at her adoringly. "I love the way you kiss me." His eyes looking at her through the haze that seemed to separate them from anything and anyone else nearby. "Let me have another one of those kisses, please?" He waited for her to come to him. Then as she moved to kiss him again, he ran his fingers through her hair and moaned once her lips pressed against his several more times. "God, I love you so much." His heart ached for her. He could feel his emotions physically right now. His chest was full and his hands felt hollow when they weren't on her skin. "I can't even begin to explain how much I need you, baby. I just don't know the right words."

She smiled beneath him. It felt good to be loved. She and her mother had been growing increasingly distant over the last couple of years. Now that her mom was remarried and she was a Werecat, something her mother hated, she wondered if they had simply come to a point where they'd have to go their separate ways for a while. She hated that thought. She hated the idea that the only family she'd ever known was pulling away from her. She hated that she truly believed that the only way for her to learn about herself and for her to be with her mate, she had to give up her mother who'd always been there for her. She felt tears welling in her eyes.

Troy looked down and knew that she was sad about something. "Baby?" She burst out into tears and clutched him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her small slender body and let his feet slide out so that he was on top of her now. He rolled them so that her tears fell onto his chest. He gathered her as close to him as he could and bent down to kiss her head, "Oh my sweet baby. Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." He felt her crying all out now. She wasn't letting up any time soon. So, he yanked the comforter and drew it around them. He curled her to him so that her face was comfortably settled in the curve of his neck. "It's going to be alright, sweetheart. I love you. No matter what, I will always love you." He kept whispering sweet words into her ear as she cried out her emotions. At some point they had each fallen asleep still wrapped together in his comforter.

* * *

Taylor was to the point of disbelief. Something told her that she had to confirm what she'd thought she'd seen tonight. So, she picked up her phone and called Chad. To her surprise, he answered.

"Yeah?"

"Chad? Are you okay?"

Chad felt very groggy. "What?"

Taylor was beginning to doubt her sanity. "I said are you okay?"

Chad felt something rip through him. He let out a scream. "Owww, SHIT! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

Taylor was even more confused now. "CHAD!"

He finally registered her voice, "Tay…" She could hear someone else in the room.

"Chad!"

"He has to go, Taylor. It's time for him to get some rest, sweetie. He'll talk to you in a couple of days when he isn't grounded anymore."

The last thing Taylor heard was Chad scream, "TAYLOR!"

She had tears cascading down her cheeks. What should she do? Should she go to him? Should she try to stop whatever was happen? Could she? Could she do anything to help Chad? He was the one who seemed to have all the power at that, didn't he? Then her thoughts turned to the only person she could think of that might be as powerful…She wasn't crazy. She had seen him shift to a wolf.


	25. Freedom

Someone Completely - Chapter 24 – Freedom

Troy rolled over the next morning to see his precious kitten sleeping as a large black furry cat next to him. Her silky black fur-covered back was pressed against his side. He heard a soft purr rumbling from her chest. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled his face against the soft hair. He cuddled the cat the way a four year old might try to hug a pet dog. He scratched her tummy and back and for a few seconds, he scratched right behind her ears.

Gabriella woke to the feeling of Troy's petting. She couldn't remember shifting last night, but she apparently had because now here she was in full fur. She couldn't believe how wonderful Troy's scratching really felt on her fur-lined skin. She made a mental note to be kind to all furries from now on with at least a little scratch of the belly or ears.

Troy hit play on his iPod dock and stood to the side of his bed in front of his favorite cat in the whole world. He ran his hand over her head and hugged her as she sat and stretched on his bed. She nuzzled the side of his neck and he found himself nuzzling back. He wondered if when they were both in fur and both missing each other if this was how they would show affection. He wondered if all animals did this. He'd seen giraffes do it at the zoo. He'd seen dogs do it.

Gabriella decided she needed to shift. Before she could make any real physical effort at it, she found herself sitting naked on Troy's bed.

Troy's eyes went large as he looked down to realize that she'd stopped nuzzling because she was naked on his bed. He couldn't resist. "If you don't want my attention this morning, you need to cover up." He raised a hand to reach out to touch her, but he pulled back at the last second and ran it through his own hair. "Damn! I want to touch you."

Gabriella felt heat between her legs. She was watching him standing there trying desperately to hold himself back from touching her naked body laid out in front of him. She got incredibly turned on by the fact that he was losing the internal battle. "Baby, you're killing me."

She laid on her back and spread her legs a little farther apart, "See something you like?"

Troy nearly pounced onto her. "Yes." His rough, husky voice responded. "Can I have what I want?"

She smiled, "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

Troy smiled deviously. "Come 'mere, kitty. I want to play with you."

She grinned, "Hmm…that's a good thing, wolfy. Cause I've got a few things I want to do to you, too."

Troy buried his lips against the skin on her neck. He quickly worked his way to her naked breasts. He licked and sucked and nipped at the tips of her perfect mounds. Her breasts made him weak. He wanted pussy nearly all the time, but her tits could take him from the most sound, rational thinking guy in the room to hard and horny in a split second. His hands were touching different parts of her body. His right hand held him up just over her and touched the skin of her shoulder and cheek. His left hand was wandering her body, touching every inch of it he could reach. He had no intentions of leaving any tiny little spec of her skin without his scent. He wanted to touch every piece of her. And then he was going to kiss every piece of her and then…then he was going to put his dick inside that sweet pussy and make amazing love to her.

Gabriella squirmed beneath him. She wanted more and she was quickly getting impatient about it. "Please, Troy. Baby, I need—I—I want—" She was frustrated and she couldn't decide what she wanted most.

Troy raised himself up over her face again. "Tell me what you want, Gabs. You know I'll give you whatever you want in bed."

She wiggled again, "I want sex of some kind. I don't care what kind, I just need—" She growled, "I just need you touching me, fucking me, something! I don't know what I want exactly. I just know I want us physically connected and rutting against one another fiercely. I need you, Troy."

He leaned forward and kissed her lips. He thrust his hips slowly rubbing his cock teasingly along her pussy lips. She was dripping wet. She was wiggling trying desperately to slide his dick inside of her. He groaned as she made a little progress. He smiled into their kiss as he felt the tip of his dick slide between her folds and up along her clitoris. He stroked side to side for a few moments. He loved the feel of her squirming intensifying. She was desperate for him.

"TROY! Please!"

Troy swallowed her pleas in a firm, sexy kiss.

He could hear her trying to moan her begging beneath him. He could feel the vibrations of sound coming from her, but he was bound and determined to make her crazy before he gave in, because once he was inside her again, he already knew he'd never be able to last. And he hated pulling out before she'd gotten off too. Finally he felt her hand slip from where he hand the fingers of each hand laced with his own to either side of her head. He felt her reach down and grasp his manhood. He shook as she lined his cock up with her hole and thrust her hips up. He grinned after he reveled in the shared moan that escaped them.

Gabriella had been whimpering and wiggling to just get a little satisfaction out of his dick against her pussy. Now, she had him deep inside her and she was loving it. "Troy! Yes! Fuck me!"

He growled his consent and started thrusting into her. He was trying to keep some semblance of control over himself. He was changing speed and angle every so often trying to maintain enough calm to not cum in her right away. Then he felt her wrap her legs around his waist and felt her hands clamp down on his sides and he knew that she was taking over and there was no way he was going to be able to keep from spilling inside her shortly. He wanted it bad. He wanted to fuck her sweet little horny pussy and make himself shoot his cum up inside his warm, soft, silky pussycat. She was his. He wouldn't let any other come close enough to make her want to stray. Troy felt her heat surrounding him and he felt his dick bulging as his balls tightened to give her what he knew she wanted. "I'm almost there, baby! Fuck yes! Just a little—"

She milked his cock for all she could get. The feeling of him getting off inside her pussy felt beyond amazing. She rubbed up and down his shaft a few more times before she began feeling him flinch. "Troy…" she moaned against his lips as he gently withdrew from her body.

He rolled just to the side of her and slipped his fingers down to her pussy. He leaned over to her ear, "Shh…just let me take care of you, baby." He dipped his fingers into her cum-filled hole and then pulled them back out. She groaned her disapproval. He smiled against her ear. He moved his lips down to the nipple closest to him and began sucking on it generously. Finally, he moved his fingers with just a little pressure in a circular motion over her clit. She started wiggling again. Then she was moaning and ready to beg for her pleasure. Then just as his muscular arm was getting a bit tired, she bucked her hips and he felt her body convulse slightly as she got the orgasm she'd been trying to reach. He suckled at her tit for a few moments more, before releasing the sweet skin. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him a bit tighter. He leaned up and kissed her lips softly. He looked into her eyes, "I love you."

Her satisfied smile mimicked his, "I love you, too."

He leaned forward and kissed her again before settled down next to her. They would lie there quietly for a few minutes before they got up to share a sweet shower where each washed the other's body and several cute kisses were shared between washing body parts.

When they emerged from the shower and Troy was drying off her feet, he knelt down and kissed each of her toes as he moved the towel over her skin. They were still laughing and teasing as they had been in the shower. Troy acted like a chivalrous knight. He loved when she laughed or giggled, or just smiled. Something about her eyes lit up jovially made all the tension in his chest ease. Everything would be okay as long as he could do little things like this that made her smile and stay close to him.

Finally, they were getting dressed and they heard some commotion outside. Then Gabriella recognized her dad's voice followed by her mother's louder one. Troy pulled the curtains back and saw police cruisers sitting outside the house.

Gabriella gasped, "Oh no!"

Troy followed closely behind her as she dashed out of his room and down the stairs. He stayed within a step of her all the way out the front door. He surveyed their surroundings even as he followed her up to her parents. He saw two police cruisers sitting at the end of the driveway with a third at the corner. There were four uniformed cops around the front yard. Two of them stood directly across from them on the other side of her arguing parents.

Gabriella started to slide between them, but Troy grasped her and pulled her back to him as soon as her mom moved to grip her arm. He was faster and Gabriella was back in his arms and he was glaring at Maria harshly. Ed looked over at Troy, "Take her back inside, Troy. She doesn't need to see this."

Troy furrowed his brow and looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Baby, please?"

Gabriella shook her head, "No! Dad, I will decide what I do and don't need to see thank you very fucking much!"

The officer put a hand on his knight stick as Maria reached from behind Troy and smacked Gabriella. Troy turned and put his back to Gabriella. He backed them both up two steps. He looked at Maria. "You ever strike her again for any reason and you'll be dealing with me." Troy glanced at the officer and Ed, then back to Maria. "We're going back inside."

The office shook his head, "She needs to stay out here. I need to speak with her."

Jack turned from where he was talking to one of the older officers by the driveway.

Troy shook his head, "Fine!"

The officer treaded very lightly. "I'll come to you. You two stay where you are."

Troy backed off another step and turned to Gabriella. Her torture was showing through her eyes. He pulled her to him, "Come 'mere, baby. It's gonna be okay."

Maria let out a scream. "SHE IS MY DAUGHTER AND THEY'RE HOLDING HER AGAINST HER WILL!"

Gabriella leaned back from Troy. "I AM 18! YOU CAN'T KEEP ME FROM DAD OR TROY! I'LL STAY HERE IF I WANT TO!"

The officer nodded for Troy to lead Gabriella around the side of the house where it was a little quieter. "Ma'am, I need to ask a few things. You just said you're 18?"

She nodded, "Yes, I've been 18 for about 3 weeks now. My dad, Ed, he just returned to the area and I've only just met him. He is staying here with the Boltons. Troy is my boyfriend. My mother hates them both and she isn't fond of Jack and Lucille either. So, she's throwing a fit because I called her last night and told her I wasn't coming home, but spending the night here."

The officer nodded, "You're not being coerced or held against your will in any way?"

She shook her head and looked the officer directly in the eye, "I love my dad and Troy and I have nothing to fear from them or Mom and Dad. I think I'm safer here than with my mom right now."

Troy scoffed, but said nothing.

Gabriella tucked herself into his arms again. She laid one hand on his chest. She felt his kiss her hair and wrap an arm around her waist. She knew that he was grateful for her loving gesture.

The officer noted their easy embrace and affection for one another. "Well, then I think that's about all we can do here. Thank you, Miss Montez." He turned and started back to the front yard. "You should know that while we can't take you back to your mother's home like she wants, she can make life rather difficult. You should be sure you want to anger her like this. She can throw you out and there will be nothing we can do about it."

Gabriella felt tears rise to her eyes. "I will keep that in mind. Thank you officer."

The man walked back to the front.

Gabriella curled the rest of the way into Troy's arms. "Oh God." She let tears she couldn't avoid fall.

Troy wrapped both his arms around her loosely. "Sweetheart, you know you can always stay here." He let out a small laugh, "You know I prefer you here with me, anyway. I'll share my room, whatever you need."

She cried. She was furious. She leaned back. "No," She wiped at her tears. "I'm done with this crap." She let go of Troy and began stomping around to the front of the house. She saw the cruisers leaving. She stood in front of her mother and father. "I'm done with this crap." Her mother tried to reach to grab Gabriella's arm just as she had when Gabriella was a child. Gabriella simply stared at her mother. "I will make the decisions regarding who I am and where I should be. I am a Were whether you want me to be or not, mama." She turned to her dad, "And, I love you, papa, but you hid in your fur for too many years." She looked up at Troy's parents. "We have a little more than a month left of school. May I stay here with Troy until we leave for college?"

Jack looked at Lucille and then at Troy. He sighed, "Truthfully, I think we're fine with that. But there's something to consider here, Gabriella. Technically, Troy is a full grown alpha male. His room, his things, they're his territory. You need to ask your mate, sweetheart."

Gabriella turned to Troy.

Troy nodded, "You know I want you with me."

Gabriella reached for his hand and eased as she felt his arms slide onto her hips from behind her. She felt his strength behind her. He literally had her back on this. She looked back at her parents. "I will be here until I leave for college. I know that neither of you are particularly happy about this, but the fact is that I need to be with my mate. I need to learn what it means to be a Were and I need to do that in an environment that is safe for me. There is nowhere safer than this home with my mate."

Maria shook her head, "You are safest at home with your mother."

Gabriella shook her head, "This is no longer your decision."

Ed stood quietly looking at Gabriella and Troy. "You're too young to be mated, much less living together on a daily basis. Being too young is exactly what went wrong for your mother and I."

Maria scoffed, "You being a freak is what ruined our relationship."

Ed shook his head, "Maria—"

"Don't start with that crap about—"

Gabriella held up her hand bringing everyone's attention back to her. "This is over and done. Leave, go home, mother. Dad, if ever there were a time to hide in your fur, now would be it."

Maria started crying, "But Gabriella how can you do this to me? I've raised you…I've—"

"You've done all you can, but I can't learn what I need to learn from you. I need Lucille and Jack and dad to teach me from here, mama. I love you. I really do, but it's time for me to move forward. It's just a little sooner than you expected. You need to accept this." Gabriella turned and looked at Troy, "Honey, can we please…"

Troy looked down into her eyes, "What do you need?"

She looked back up into his eyes. "Truthfully," she sighed in a way that it seemed like a one hundred pound weight was sliding off of her shoulders, "I just need some peace and quiet, for one freaking day."


	26. Futures

Someone Completely - Chapter 25 - Futures

Troy smiled, "Peace and quiet? Come with me, my love." He took her hand and they went to the back yard and climbed into his tree house. Troy smiled at her. He smoothed his hand over her cheek. "Hey. Why don't we just hang out here until we hear the parental units go their separate ways?"

She smiled, "Sounds good. What should we do?"

He huffed out a bit of air, "Well, there's a bed and you and me…"

She rolled her eyes, "It's been less than two hours, Troy." She smiled anyway and dropped down onto the bed there.

He laid down next to her but left just a little space. Something inside him was suggesting that she needed some space right now. "I know. I was _half_ kidding."

She sighed again and laid back on the bed. "I feel like…I feel like your parents are more my family than my own parents right now. I'm just so frustrated with them. I mean my mom has been lying to me for years and running from place to place as though somehow she could outrun her fear of the past and the possibilities of the future. Then there's my dad who's been hiding in fur for like my whole life. I can't stand this. I just want them to get over the crap and...and, I don't know. I just want them to get over their crap! I have too much going on in my life right now! I can't deal with their drama too!"

Troy watched his girlfriend vent. He had no idea what any of this felt like. Right now, he was thanking the stars for the parents he had. He just hoped that his parents would be enough to help her feel like there was a safe place. He was lying on his stomach. He folded his arms up to cushion his head, but he stayed quiet and let her think. After all, that's why he had always come up here.

"I want to just be normal for like a day. It's not that I don't love my family and our friends. It's not that I don't love being a Were, I do. It's just—God, I need a break. Life was hard enough…"

Troy looked up at her. She had been pacing his floor, but she'd stopped.

"Do you still have those offer letters up here?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah. Why?"

She smiled, "I know what I want to do today, baby."

He looked at her suspiciously. "What?"

She smiled, "I want to focus on you."

He grinned, "I like the sound of that."

She rolled her eyes, "Not that, Troy. _God_." She laughed though. "No, I want to decide our futures. We have been fighting to be free of all the pressure and our current situation, but we don't even know where we're going yet. I want to look at your offer letters to see where they're from. I know where mine are from. I want us to pick some place to go to college."

He raised his eyebrows again. "Today?"

She nodded, "Yeah, today. Together, just you and me."

He looked at her for a second as he pondered it over. "Alright." He reached over to his favorites box and pulled out a handful of letters with official seals on them.

She began looking them all over. She'd read the name of the school and sort it into a pile. What each pile meant he had no idea. But given her level of frustration with everyone else she loved this morning, he felt that keeping quiet was the smartest thing he could do.

Twenty minutes later she was done. She turned to him. "Okay, these are the far away schools and these are the places I don't have any letters from or from places close to them. These are schools I have letters from too. These are schools where I have a letter from some place close to it."

Troy picked up the piles that were far away from his lover and tossed them out the door into the back yard. He laid back down on the bed and proceeded to laugh at the face Gabriella gave him. "What? We know I'm not going anywhere without you, so those are definitely out."

She just smiled, "I love you."

He grinned and leaned forward to just inches from her face. "I love you too." He pecked her lips with his and then leaned back to his comfortable position on the bed.

She looked down and said, "Well, which pile do you want to start with?"

He shrugged, "The pile that you have letters from too, I guess."

She nodded, "Okay." She picked the letters up and scanned through them. "The list is short. In fact, just three names: U of A, Arizona State University, and UCLA. So, tell me something about each school. Do you like their basketball program? Can you see yourself playing for them?"

Troy groaned, "Well, I can easily see U of A, but it just seems…boring. I refuse to play for Arizona State. And, UCLA, I don't know. I mean that program just seems so intimidating. They used to win NCAA championships all the time and I don't know if I'm trying to go to a big program."

She nodded, "Okay. I can work with that. U of A is in a realistic possibility column, UCLA is in a 'probably not' column. And Arizona State," she handed him the letter, "is ready for flight."

He laughed, "Awesome." He opened the door and tossed the crumpled sheet out over the rail. He started to turn back into his tree house when his dad's voice caught him.

"So, I take it the two of you are discussing where to go to college then?" He held up a few of the letters Troy had already thrown out.

Troy nodded, "Yep."

"And these, I assume, didn't make the cut?"

Troy shook his head, "Nope."

Jack sighed, "Well, I'll just leave these here for now then."

Troy nodded, "I'll get them when we've made a decision."

Jack laughed, "Alright then. Enjoy the process if you can."

Troy grinned, "That's what throwing them over the rail is for."

Jack chuckled again and went back into the house. He could be heard explaining to Lucille and Eduardo what was happening outside where it was raining paper. Maria had finally quit arguing and gone home several minutes ago.

Troy went back into his tree house. "Alright, we've narrowed down to one pile, with two possibilities leftover. What's in the other pile, babe?"

Gabriella picked it up, "Hmm…All of these have campuses close enough to places I've been accepted and offered scholarships for: University of Massachusetts, UC Berkley, Southern Connecticut State University, and Rutgers University."

Troy sighed, "Do we really want to go out to the East Coast?"

She shrugged, "I don't care, but you might not want to be too far away from your parents. I don't know."

He looked over at her. "You want the truth?"

She laughed, "No, baby, lie to me." She said in a very sarcastic tone of voice.

He smiled at her. "Wherever we go, we are still going to have to deal with being Weres. So, across the country seems dangerous right now."

She nodded, "I can see that. I guess because I've lived on the East coast, I don't think anything of it."

He looked at her as though scrutinizing her. "Where all have you lived?"

She laughed, "You name it. I've lived in not quite half the states in the continental United States."

He watched her for a moment. "Which one was your favorite?"

She just looked at him, "This one, obviously! I found you! And I have my father back, and a real family to feel a part of."

He smiled, "I love you so, so much."

She smiled softer, "I love you too, Troy." She looked back down. "Now, we've made some progress. Let's get this narrowed down."

He nodded. "Okay. So, talking basketball…University of Mass is out. UC Berkley though, that one I'm really curious about. They have a really cool coach. I talk to him on the phone every so often. I really would like to play for him. Southern Connecticut, no thanks. And Rutgers? Well, I wouldn't mind playing for them either."

Gabriella nodded, "Okay, then we have two more to be thrown out. Would you do the honors?"

He grinned, "My pleasure." He opened the door and threw the unwanted letters out. "So, where does that leave us?"

She smiled, "Alright. In the overwhelming lead, we have UC Berkley, followed by Rutgers and U of A. So, we have one more for flight." She handed him the letter from UCLA.

He opened the door and threw that letter down to the grass as well.

She smiled, "So, what do you think?"

He looked at her, "Well Rutgers is out on the East coast, right?"

She nodded.

He took the Rutgers letter from her hand and tossed it out the door over the railing. "Okay, U of A or UC Berkley?"

She looked him in the eye, "Well, UC Berkley is about a 17 hour drive away from here. So it can be made in a day if needed, and UC Berkley is only 32.7 miles from Stanford, where I would love to go to school."

He smiled, "My Ivy League girlfriend."

She shrugged. "If you stay here and go to U of A, I will have to stay as well."

He looked at her, "You got into how many Ivy League schools?'

She looked away and began counting. She looked back at him, "Seven."

He shook his head, "We are not going to U of A. You are way too good for that!"

She crumpled up the U of A letter and tossed it out the door over the rail. Then, she smiled and climbed up on top of him. Straddling his hips she grinned down at him. "I love you."

He grinned, "I love you, too."

"So, UC Berkley it is, then?"

He nodded, "UC Berkley. Where I'm never more than 33 miles away from you."

She nodded, "I like that thought. I don't know what I would have done if you'd wanted to go to University of North Carolina!"

He laughed, "I'd never let basketball separate us like that! I might not want to be far from dad, but baby, I _can't_ be physically separated from you for that long and without feeling like I'm dying."


	27. Amnesty

Someone Completely – Chapter 26 – Amnesty

The sun shone brightly into the Bolton's backyard. Troy smiled as Gabriella helped the rest of the parents bring out dishes of food. He was starving. They'd sat down with his mom and dad, and her dad, after they had made their decision. The parents seemed receptive to their decision and how they had come to it.

Troy was just thrilled that something was going well for the first time in over a month. He saw Gabriella smile back at him. She really was incredibly beautiful, even if she would never admit it. He stroked her arm as she sat down next to him at the picnic table. "Hey baby." He leaned over as if begging for a kiss.

She laughed at him, but gave him the quick peck of lips that he'd been after.

"Thank you." He said with a mischievous smile.

Gabriella shook her head in his direction and then noticed the parents all chuckling at them. She blushed slightly and went about making her plate.

Lucille starting asking them questions. "So you two have been together for what? A month?"

Troy looked at Gabriella, "A little more than that, isn't it, honey?"

Gabriella smiled and nodded, "Yeah, maybe six weeks."

Lucy smiled at Jack, "I remember six weeks for us…of course, neither of us knew we were Were yet."

Jack laughed and covered his face. "Jesus, Luce, could you let that go already? It was like 20 or 30 years ago!"

Troy's ears perked up. Any story that could haunt his dad was a story he needed to possess. "So, mom, why do you remember six weeks into your relationship with dad so well?"

Lucille smirked. Jack shook his head. "Don't forget what I have on you, old woman."

Everyone at the table said, "OOOOO!"

Gabriella just looked at Lucille, "Tell me you're not gonna let him get away with that!"

Troy laughed, "Yeah, mom. That was low!"

Lucille smiled, "It was the first time that your dad met your grandpa."

Jack scoffed, "Be fair! I didn't know it was your grandpa. Nor did I know that he was a Were, or what Were was at all. Nor did I know that your mother was my mate. I just knew that I wanted her so bad I could taste it, but that she wasn't giving in to me anytime soon."

Lucille laughed, "Anyway, your grandpa said, 'Met that boy of yours outside the liquor store this morning. Ain't too impressed.'"

Jack felt his face flush for the billionth time in this conversation.

"Seems Jack had stopped my dad and asked him to buy the keg for a party that night. Told dad that if he wanted to come around there'd be a lot of drunk women there."

Troy's eyes went huge. "You did what?"

Jack shook his head, "I did not. I didn't say that at all. Though I'm sure he could have figured it out for himself."

Troy laughed, "Let me get this straight. You two had been together for six weeks and dad goes and asks your dad if he'll buy boos for a party that grandpa knows he's gonna take you to?"

Jack laughed, "That's not the funny part."

Lucille started smiling and trying to hold her laughter back. "So, grandpa walks up to your dad and I and your dad doesn't recognize him, but grandpa recognizes your dad."

Troy laughed, "OH NO!"

"Your dad says that he'll see me tonight at the party. And grandpa says, 'Can't wait to see you there, Suds.'"

Ed laughed pretty hard, "Suds is what we used to call your dad in our old frat! We did it cause he could down a beer, foam and all in less time that it took to—"

Jack jumped up, "So, anyone need something to drink." He shot a look at Eduardo. "Ed?"

Ed looked around. "Probably shouldn't tell them that, huh?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I would appreciate it if you didn't."

The adults laughed and Troy and Gabriella just looked at one another a little confused. Gabriella shrugged, "Guess you had to be there."

Lucille smiled, "Yep. That's the issue. You had to see the look on dad and grandpa's faces to get the real effect."

* * *

Several hours later, the three adults sat talking with Troy and Gabriella a bit more seriously. Troy had begun asking questions about what being an alpha meant. He wanted to know who around town was a part of the pack. He also wanted to know which of his friends could turn out to be members of his generation of pack.

Gabriella had listened quietly as they sun set and the parents poured out a wealth of information. She felt like she was getting a crash course in the supernatural. "So, Taylor, Chad, Zeke, and Kelsi are all likely candidates. But, Sharpay, Ryan, Jason, and Martha aren't?"

Jack nodded. "Yes. Taylor, Chad, Zeke, and Kelsi are all children of two Weres. The other four you mentioned have only one parent or no parents who are Were."

Ed turned to Jack. "Which kid has one parent?"

Jack caught Lucille's eye. In a hesitant voice he said, "Jason."

Ed looked at him confused, "But Neal and Judy weren't together in…"

Jack watched as Ed calculated and his mind remembered the past. "You have two children, Ed."

Gabriella's eyes exploded. "WHAT?"

Jack sighed, "Jason doesn't know. In fact, Neal doesn't know. Judy came to Lucille just after you started chasing Maria. She said she was pregnant and she didn't know for sure who had been the father because she'd slept with Neal to get back at you. Apparently, she decided that Neal was the better option. She asked Lucille to never tell you about this. But, we have a whole new situation on our hands with the kids' generation all going through transformation earlier than usual. We don't have the same luxuries that we usually do."

Ed nodded even though his face still showed that he was in considerable shock.

Gabriella spoke again, "Jason is my half-brother?"

Troy laughed, "Wow! Talk about Pinkie and the Brain!"

Gabriella shot him an incredibly irritable look.

Troy instantly stopped laughing, "You do know I was calling you the Brain, right honey?"

Ed smacked Troy upside the back of the head. "Knock it off, youngin'."

Troy growled a warning.

Jack stood between them. "Now remember, this evening is supposed to be set with amnesty for everyone. Apparently we parents are in need of a bit of amnesty too."

Lucille stood up as well. "Why don't we all retreat to our corners for a little bit before we meet back up in the living room. There's still a lot to talk about, but I think we all need a little break."

Gabriella agreed and stroked Troy's neck, "Come on, baby. Let's just go relax a bit."

Troy spent a few seconds looking at Ed, but ultimately, he softened and let his mate lead him back to their "territory," a.k.a. his room.

* * *

Troy nuzzled her cheek. He growled softly into her ear. If he couldn't fight, he could think of other ways to burn off the energy that his heightened senses had produced. "Come on, baby. You know you want me." He smoothly teased.

Gabriella placed both her hands against his chest and pushed him off of her. "I am not in the mood. Back off." She said sternly.

He shook his head. She'd never rejected him. At least not like that. "Gabriella?"

She looked at him firmly. "Troy, there are going to be times when I want you to be a little pushy, but this isn't one of them. I need you to understand that."

Troy growled, "I would never force you!"

Gabriella looked him in the eye, "You have. You did the night we—"

Troy stared at her, but he looked back and forth from her right eye to her left and back. "You knew I wanted to be more aggressive in bed! You asked me to hold you down! We were insane with the changes and with our feelings! How can you hold that against me?"

Gabriella stared at him, "I don't hold it against you! I'm just saying you have before!"

Troy growled again, "I would never hurt you! I would never rape you!"

She looked at him harshly. "I'm not saying you would rape me! All I'm saying is you need to learn when to try to seduce me and when not to try!"

He turned and hit a wall. "Damn it!" He growled again as she touched his shoulder. "I have all this—this rage inside! When I'm not craving you, I'm angry. When I'm not angry, all I can think about is you! I feel like I'm losing it! This afternoon is the first time in so long that things just felt fun and relaxed. Then your dad slapped me and I was angry all over again. I don't want to be this way, Gabi! I just want us back. I want to be able to just be with you and be with my parents and their friends without it turning into some territorial dispute."

Gabriella rubbed his shoulders for a few moments then replied, "You have to remember that we are human. You need to learn resist that animalistic urge to fight everyone."

He growled, "We _are_ animals, Gabs."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, "Shh…" She tucked her face into his neck. "We have the ability to become animals when we choose. We have the ability to behave as civilized human beings when we choose. The world is full of conflicts that are based on everyday actions that one person perceives as a slight provoking them to aggressively react before thinking about the intention of the other person. Yes, we are animals sometimes, Troy. But, we have the ability to choose how we react." She walked a few steps around so that she faced him now. She placed her hands on his face, "I love you. I will always love you. It has nothing to do with bonds, or rituals, or fate. I love you, because I choose to love you. I choose to treat you differently than I do any other male. I choose to allow those feelings of attraction out for you to see sometimes. All I was saying before is that, I need you to understand that just because you feel something does not mean you need to act on it, baby."

Troy slumped onto her. He let his arms wrap around her gently. "But, I love you and I want to make love to you. Plus, when I'm angry, sex with you is like the best release I've ever felt."

She sighed, "Troy, as much as I love that you can't think of anything better than making love to me, you have to control yourself too."

Troy smelled her scent grow a bit stronger. He ran his nose along the skin of her neck. He breathed in her scent and he felt himself go completely rigid. "Gabriella…" He moaned as he began to kiss her naked flesh. "Sometimes, burying my dick inside you is exactly what I need."

"Sometimes…" She tried desperately to maintain her train of thought, but his kisses and the feel of his fingers on her lower back were making her body desire him.

He smiled against her skin as he noticed her scent intensify. "Is now one of those times, my baby?"

She giggled softly against his shoulder. "Oh Troy…" She sighed his name out again, "I need—"

He held his breath. He let his fingers caress her skin.

"I need—"

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK* "Hey kids! Time to meet back downstairs, if you're decent."

Troy felt his head drop down in disappointment. He was just getting her ready to give in to him, and now it was time to be frustrated again.

Gabriella smiled to herself. She dropped to her knees and said loudly, "We'll be down in a few minutes, mom!" She then leaned forward, dropped his pants to his ankles and pulled his cock out and swallowed it.

He moaned out as he grasped the door frame that was directly in front of him now. "Damn, baby. You have to warn me—" He sucked in a breath as she bit down on his dick carefully. The pressure was just enough to excite him in a whole new way but not enough to hurt. "More…please, baby, I need more. Suck me. Please, baby, I'm begging. Suck me some more."

She slipped off his dick. "Here's the deal," she said as she stroked him, "you promise to cum in my mouth so that I can enjoy it, or I stop now."

Troy felt her mouth slide along his penis one more time. His head fell back as he groaned, "I swear I will cum anywhere you want me to, baby. If you want it in your mouth," he groaned again, "I'll cum in your mouth and down your throat. Please just suck me a little more."

Gabriella smiled, "Sit down on the bed."

Troy nodded, "Okay."

She smiled as she watched him waddle over to the bed. "I'm going to take care of you, baby. Just lay back."

He did as directed.

When she slid his dick back into her mouth, she slipped her own fingers into her pussy folds. As she moved up and down his very hard penis, she moved her fingers over her own clit. She began to moan and grunt as she got ready to finish. She felt his balls tighten and the taste of his cum spewing into her mouth and overwhelming her throat. His cum spilling out her lips was the last tease that sent her over her edge. She licked her lips and rolled onto her back as her orgasm shuddered through her. "Yes…" She went limp against the cool floor as she licked her fingers for every taste of his cum she could get.

Troy stood up and pulled his pants back into position. He smiled down at her. "As much as I love seeing you enjoy my cum, honey..."

Gabriella sighed and smiled up at Troy. "Yeah?"

Troy laughed lightly, "We are definitely past a 'few minutes'."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Oh My God! Right!" She jumped up and fixed her clothes. "Okay. Do I look okay?"

Troy wrapped his arms around her waist. "You always look amazing, kitten."

Gabriella purred against his ear.

Troy smiled and looked at her from beneath his eye lashes. "When you purr for me, it makes my heart race, my sweet, beautiful kitten."

Gabriella smiled and moved in to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Love you."

Troy grinned, "Love you too, kitten." Troy pecked her lips again. Then, he grabbed her hand and pulled her gently along with him as they headed downstairs to finish their night of amnesty.

* * *

"We've been having sex."

Jack laughed.

Troy looked at him with a little bit of tension showing. "What?"

Jack chuckled, "Son, we are all well aware that they two of you have been very active."

Troy flushed and gripped Gabriella's hand a little tighter. "The point was that we don't actually know if or how she would get pregnant. Is it like any other human where it can happen any time? Or is it like animals where there's a period of time when she's in heat? Should I use condoms? Will they work? What about birth control? Can she just take a pill every day?" Troy let out a heavy breath. "With all the sex we've been having, she could be all ready and neither of us are ready for a kid or a cub. That's another thing, what would we have?"


	28. Reprieve

Someone Completely – Chapter 27 – Reprieve

Troy held her as she leaned against him. "So, she'll go into heat and then we're more likely to have a kid than any other time, but we're still capable any other time. It's just less likely?"

Lucille closed her eyes. "Honey, just consider that any time it's possible." She looked down at Gabriella, "Sweetie do you still have the pills I gave you the morning after the two of you mated?"

Gabriella blushed. She hadn't had the guts to tell Troy that his mother had given her birth control pills the next morning or that she had been on her own pills even before they'd… "Uh, well you know about my, uh—"

He could smell her fear and feel the tension in her body as she leaned against him. Troy looked down at her. "Baby, what's wrong?"

Gabriella looked around at all the men in the room.

Lucille smiled, "This is girl talk, gentlemen. Could you please go get something to drink?"

Troy looked confused. "I kind of need to be a part of the conversation," he said sheepishly.

Gabriella bit her lip. "You can stay. But," she looked at Ed. "Dad, could you…"

Ed looked around and then smiled and nodded.

Jack had already retreated to the kitchen. Lucille took her hands, "Now, what were you going to say sweetie?"

Gabriella glanced at Troy. "I hope you don't get mad at me, but I've been taking birth control all ready. I'm not ready for a kid yet. I'm just not."

Troy nodded, "I'm not either, baby. Why would I be mad at you over birth control?"

Gabriella shrugged.

Lucille nodded, "Have you been taking the ones I gave you?"

Gabriella nodded. "But even before that, I was taking my own. I've been on them for a while now. A little over a year, actually."

Troy smiled, "Awesome." He let out a sigh. "I was really scared, 'cause we've…" He glanced up at his mother, "Uh, you know."

Gabriella blushed and snuggled tighter to him.

Lucille tried to resist the smile, "Not always had a 'goalie' in place?"

Troy felt his cheeks flush to shades he never wanted his face to appear in ever again. "Uh—"

Gabriella nodded quietly against his chest, "But like I said, I've been on birth control for a while."

Lucille nodded, "That's important. You two are safe then, Troy. Regardless of how unsafe you've been, you're covered because your mate is an incredibly responsible woman."

Troy nodded and kissed her head. "Thank you, baby."

Lucille looked at them both a bit more sternly though, "But, what I gave you is a little stronger, Gabi. I want you to promise me that you'll let me know when you're ready for another packet. It's not the kind that you can go to Planned Parenthood to get, alright?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, Lucille. I really, really appreciate it."

Lucille smiled, "It's alright. I have this conversation with each of my new girls, though they're usually a bit older."

Gabriella grinned, "And not mated to your only son, obviously."

Lucille nodded, "Well that too." She cleared her throat, "All right gentlemen, you can come back now."

Troy looked at Jack. "So, about that being an alpha thing. How does this work, dad? I mean can you and I be in the same pack?"

Jack nodded, "In fact, you're required to be in multiple packs where you can learn from an older alpha before you're ready to begin leading your generation. Obviously, you are going to be under a different kind of stress being so young. Generally, we have a treaty with other nearby packs that we exchange future alphas for a period of time for training. But, I'm kind of hoping that you'll be able to meet up with a pack near Berkeley or Stanford."

Troy frowned, "What about Chad?"

Jack smiled, "He's not an alpha. He'll remain part of the pack, or it will be my responsibility to find him a surrogate pack for his college years. That's part of the duties of any alpha, Troy. We take care of our pack members." He looked up at Ed. "Sometimes you'll even find lone wolves or other species that want to stay with our pack from time to time. While you're young, I want the two of you to steer clear of them. However, once you're an established pack with a firm core group, you'll begin to be stable enough to take in these Weres for brief periods of time."

Troy nodded, "What is happening to Chad right now?"

Jack smiled, "His mom and dad are both Weres as well. They're taking care of him for this week. His transition wasn't like yours and Gabriella's. He didn't have as smooth a transition as the two of you. Your mother and I are keeping in contact with the Danforths. He's going to be alright. Though," he looked at Gabriella, "Taylor is freaking out a bit more than we initially thought she would."

Gabriella looked at him, "Why? She seemed as though she was calming down."

Lucille looked at Gabriella, "She called and Chad answered, except he started having some pain while they were talking. She's more upset now because of that."

Troy looked at his dad, "Is there anything we can do?"

Gabriella met Troy's eyes in a silent supportive glance.

Jack shook his head. "Not right now. We'll let you know if something comes up."

Gabriella nodded, "Alright. What else?"

Jack smiled, "For now, that's all. For now, the two of you sit back and absorb. You're still young members of the pack and you'll have a few months to get the ideas down before you go off to school. You're protected for now. Being the young alpha, a mated alpha at that, you'll be protected fiercely. So, for now, just relax. We've got this."

Gabriella let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She'd been expecting another laundry list of things to do to take care of everyone. It was nice, for once, to be told that she didn't have to take on more responsibility without complaint.

* * *

After Troy and Gabriella had gone upstairs to get some rest and cuddle time, Ed had said good night. Now, Jack and Lucille found themselves quietly sitting in the living room alone. Lucille cuddled into Jack. "They're so eager. I hate to put any more pressure on them."

Jack laughed, "Remember when we were so eager to lead?"

Lucille laughed as well, "My dad thought you were the worst possible option, but once we transitioned there was no denying it. You were definitely an alpha."

Jack nodded with a smile. "I thought your dad was going to kill me in that fight, but somehow I got over the top of him. The next thing I knew, I had a paw to his throat. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't figure out how it had happened." He chuckled as he replayed the memory.

Lucille smiled and watched her own version of the memory flash through her head. "You were incredibly sexy up there fighting for me."

Jack held her a bit tighter against him, "I would have done anything for you." He placed a kiss on her head, "I still would, my beautiful." He traced his fingers along her bare arm. "Shall we go up to bed, hon?"

Lucille sighed heavily. "Sure."

"I'm beat." Jack smiled to her as they stood to move up the stairway.

Lucille nodded, "Is it me or is parenting teenagers harder than when they're babies?"

Jack shook his head, "Honey, I couldn't honestly tell you. All I know right now is that I just want him to get through this phase of life with a good enough education and family foundation to be able to move on to the next part. For the first time, I can't make the things happen that have to. It's up to him to make the decisions that will change his life and make it better now. I can tell him as much as I can, but the actual decisions are his now. That's hard to accept, but I don't really get to choose. I won't force him to actually physically fight for dominance."

Lucille hugged her arms around his torso as they moved into their room. "That's just one of the many reasons I love you, Jack."

He smiled down at her. "No one ever said parenting was easy on anyone, the kid or the parent."

Lucille hugged him, then moved over to their bathroom to get ready for bed.

* * *

Troy held her closely as they lie in bed. His friends were likely to go through this too. Then there's Jason that no one really knew about. He couldn't decide if he wanted his friends along with him on this journey or if he wanted to see them spared the confusion and pain. At the same time, knowing that Chad would heal and then get to trod through the woods with him on a hunt made Troy's heart leap. It was good to know that the two people he leaned on most would be with him for life.

He tucked one arm up behind his head. He sighed as he felt Gabriella sleeping against his chest. She was resting and safe in his arms. He could let his mind wander for the time being. He looked at the ceiling and watched thoughts play out in his imagination. The idea of he and Gabriella playing in a meadow somewhere with two little cubs romping around made him smile. Then an image of himself standing in front of a large gathering of Weres quickened his heartbeat. His smile returned at the mundane thought of coming home on a regular day from work to kiss his mate. He imagined her on Stanford's campus holding a bag full of books as she was running to him because he had surprised her. He made a mental note to do that some time.

Gabriella stirred a little in her sleep and mumbled something incomprehensible. Then she rolled a bit and tucked herself onto her other side with her head cushioned by Troy's arm.

He rolled over himself and wrapped her back into his arms. "My sweet, sexy kitten," he said as he softly cuddled to her back. He kissed the back of her head and let his eyes close. It had been one very long weekend. They'd gotten a lot of answers this weekend. Some of those answers had been their own choice and others had been answers given to them. None the less, there were less questions eating at them as they slept.

* * *

Monday morning came all too soon for everyone. It was a busy morning in the Bolton household. Gabriella and Troy took turns in the bathroom and getting dressed. Troy laughed and shook his head when he saw her make up on one corner of his sink. He realized he needed to change the way he thought. It was their sink now. He had to share everything with her. Then he heard her calling him to finish getting ready. So, he did a quick shave and moved back out to the bedroom. "Sorry, babe." He dropped a quick kiss to her lips. "You ready?"

She nodded, "And we still need to go over to my mom's to see if my car is still my car, or if she's going to keep all of my stuff."

Troy shook his head, "For today, let's just go to school in my truck. We can go over there tonight when we have more time to reason with her."

She looked at him, "What am I supposed to do this afternoon while you're in practice?"

Troy stood up from tying his shoes. "I was going to ask you to talk to Taylor, actually. I was thinking more about it after you fell asleep last night. I think we need to take Chad and Taylor under our wing a little. I think there are some things that Taylor will accept a lot better coming from you than from any of the parents, honey. I was hoping maybe you'd ask her to go for ice cream or I don't know do one of the many projects you two work on together this afternoon. Since you don't have your car it would be a great excuse."

Gabriella smiled and looked into his eyes adoringly, "You are taking care of all of us already, Wildcat."

Troy shook his head, "I just think we all need to stick together."

She smiled, "I like that idea."

He smiled, "I'm glad. Now, we have to go or we are so going to be late for homeroom and I really don't want you pissed at me all day for making you late."

She laughed and through her bag over her shoulder. "Let's go then, Wildcat!"

Troy trailed after her like a good wolf chasing his favorite pussycat.


	29. More

Someone Completely – Chapter 28 – More

Chad cried out again. "Dad! MOM!"

His mom came into the room, "I've got some more tea ready, Chad. Try to relax. The more flexing—"

Chad interrupted her, "I know, I know. The more flexing, the more it will hurt."

She sighed, "Chad, we tell you these things for your own good."

He rolled his eyes, "But you won't tell me what the hell is happening to me, or why I can't see Taylor!"

She sighed, "Son, there are things we just don't know HOW to explain yet!"

Chad looked at his father. "You can't explain! I'm in physical pain! Take me to a damn HOSPITAL!"

His dad shook his head, "Chad it's not that kind of pain."

Chad just looked at him as though the old man had lost his mind, "Yes, it is!"

His mother sighed, "Chad Michael Danforth, your father is right. But, so are you."

Chad started to argue, but then looked at her confused as her last statement unraveled in his mind. "What?"

She sat on the side of his bed, "You are going through something called 'transition.' You are too young for this to be happening, so we're all scrambling trying desperately to figure out what to do and how to do it. We're human too, Chad. We might be parents, but we don't have all the answers exactly when you want them. I'm sorry we haven't included you in the discussions of what is happening. That was a mistake. If you'll calm down and let me try to explain, I will give it a shot."

Chad nodded and leaned back in his bed and sipped at the tea his mother had handed him moments ago. It really did ease some of the pain, if not the confusion and the longing he felt for Taylor to be near. "Okay, shoot."

She let out a deep breath slowly, "Alright, now, some of what I'm going to have to say is going to sound insane, but I need you to bare with me until I'm done. I promise that it will make more sense at some point. For now, please just listen."

Chad nodded again.

"We," she motioned to his father and herself, "are Weres, which means you will—are, a Werewolf as well."

Chad spit out his tea.

She chuckled, "Well, that's one reaction." She smiled at him. "Troy is as well. In fact, you've grown up amongst the pack without knowing it. Jack, Coach Bolton, is the alpha of our pack. He is the natural leader. Troy is an alpha as well."

Chad's eyes grew to two times their normal size, "Troy's one of these Were things too?"

She smiled softly, "That's what I've been told. Apparently, Gabriella is a Jaguar like her father, who is also an alpha. In fact, Gabriella is currently protected by a trifecta of alphas, her father, her mate, and the pack leader."

Chad's jaw dropped, "So, I'm one of these Weres? That's what's happening to my body?"

She nodded, "We're all Weres, Chad."

"Everyone?"

"No, just all of us in this family. See, the problem is that Weres aren't supposed to transition from purely human form into their animal form until around 25 years old. Your generation appears to be transitioning sooner than any before it and quite frankly, we as the elders, don't know what to do about it or what it means."

Chad shook his head as though trying desperately to wrap his mind around this. It all seemed like some comic book or movie plot line. He couldn't accept in his head that it was real. Then another sharp pain shot through him and he knew that his bones had moved. His mind began to contemplate what it really meant to physically change form and be an animal. "I don't know if I can do this, mommy," he said in a voice that sounded about five years old.

She looked at him with sad eyes, "I wish I could spare you from the pain, sweetheart, but I promise it does get better and it comes with some pretty cool perks."

Chad hissed out another deep breath in an attempt to control the pain in his ribs.

* * *

Gabriella smiled at Taylor, "So, I am so sorry about being so lazy with the team and the yearbook. I was thinking maybe I could pay for some frozen yogurt later as a 'forgive me' kind of thing? It feels like we haven't had a normal conversation in forever!"

Taylor turned to her. Her eyes were still bloodshot from all the crying and lack of sleep. Her world was turning upside down. She was supposed to be smart, but she had no idea what was happening to her boyfriend.

Gabriella looked at her as though she'd suddenly become aware of Taylor's thoughts. "Oh sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Taylor felt the tears fill her eyes again. Saying it out loud was so much harder, "Gabriella, I don't know what's happening to him."

Gabriella dropped her books and held out her arms for Taylor. "We need to talk. Come on, upstairs. We'll come down for first period after homeroom."

Taylor nodded and followed Gabriella up to the roof top. She was amazed to smell fresh lilac and see all the beautiful plants and flowers there. That alone seemed to ease her body some. Then she began talking.

* * *

Troy looked around for Chad or Gabriella, but didn't see them. He didn't see Taylor either. That was when he heard Sharpay.

"IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF MY FACE YOU PUNY LITTLE PIP SQUEAK—"

Troy intervened, "Shar, what's going on?"

She turned to him, "THIS LITTLE BASTARD TRIED TO STEAL MY PEN! HE TRIED TO WALK OFF WITH IT!"

Troy just looked at her, "Uh, Shar, it's a pen. Chill out."

She growled at him.

Troy just smirked. He stepped closer and in a very low, but deep voice he said to the freshman, "Run." Then he turned to Sharpay, "Shar, calm down. He's young and without the ability to defend himself from you. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

She stared back at him, which would have been bad enough. However, Zeke chose that minute to come around the corner. He saw Troy standing just inches from Sharpay and he exploded, "GET AWAY!" He pushed and shoved at Troy now.

Troy turned to him, "Hey! I was just telling her to calm down. Chill out, man."

Zeke's fangs dropped and he growled warningly at Troy, "Stay away from her. I don't care how strong you are, you don't get in her face like that!"

Troy stepped to the side so that in order for Zeke to face him dead on, he had to have his back to the crowd now beginning to form to watch the fight. Zeke had him by the collar now and backed into the alcove space in front of two English class room doors. Troy got Zeke maneuvered into the empty room that his dad used for homeroom and thanked the stars for Sharpay following them. "Zeke, relax. Your fangs are showing."

Zeke looked at him confused for a second and then he felt Sharpay freeze next to him. He looked over at her. "What?"

She handed him her compact mirror.

He opened it and looked at his face. Sure enough, there were inhuman fangs in his own mouth. "OH SHIT! FUCK! WHAT THE HELL—"

Troy looked at him, and in a deep, commanding voice said, "Calm down, Zeke. You need to relax and let your heart ease back to a normal rhythm."

Sharpay took back the mirror and then looked at her own face. Her eyes were a strange shade of grey. "Troy, what's happening to us? Why aren't you freaking out too?"

Troy ran a hand through his hair, "Because I know what's happening and I've already been through it. Just try to keep calm. My dad will be here any second."

She looked at him and said, "So will about 30 East High students, Troy."

He nodded, "Them I can get rid of until we figure out what to do."

She nodded and ushered a still very confused Zeke to the corner of the room that was out of eye shot of the window in the door.

* * *

Gabriella hugged Taylor again and said, "Tell me what's going on."

Taylor looked around attempting to find the words to explain what she was afraid of and what she thought. "I guess the truth is the only option. It's going to sound insane Gabriella, but I think Chad is turning into whatever it is that Troy is. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Gabriella smiled sympathetically, "Yes, Troy is a Were."

Taylor hadn't heard anyone use that actual word yet. At least she had a name for what it was that she'd seen Troy become and thought Chad was dealing with too right this very minute.

"Well, I only vaguely remember what happened Saturday night, but I've tried calling Chad since then and his parents keep telling me that 'he's sick.' But I've heard him screaming and Gabriella I think they're lying just by the sound of their voice. It's like they don't want me to talk to him."

Gabriella nodded and didn't envy her friend the situation she found herself in at the moment. She couldn't imagine not being with Troy when the change had happened.

"He's not okay, but I don't know what to do. Then it occurred to me that Troy is one of these things and he might have some answers for me. Do you think he could come with us for yogurt this afternoon?"

Gabriella shook her head, "I'm sorry. He has practice, but I am a Were as well, Tay. I could probably answer some of your questions if you're still willing to hang out with me later."

Taylor looked stricken. "Is there anyone who isn't one of these things?"

Gabriella flinched at the word, _things_. "We're people, Taylor, not _things_. And yes, there are quite a lot of people who aren't Weres."

Taylor nodded, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just didn't know what to call you. Weres is it?"

Gabriella nodded, "So are we still on for later?"

Taylor felt something inside her chest ease. There were answers to be found and she would get them this afternoon. "Yes. I'm looking forward to some real answers."

Gabriella smiled, "We should get back in before first period actually starts."

Taylor nodded and led the way to their classroom.


	30. Pack

Someone Completely – Chapter 29 – Pack

Troy paced back and forth just beyond the door. He would shake his head at any of the younger sophomores who started to come into the classroom. They were collecting outside and waiting for their teacher, because the school captain "said" they shouldn't go in.

Finally Jack rushed around the corner of the hall. He'd been informing Mr. Matsui that he'd spoken with the Danforth's this morning and Chad was having some growing pains and wouldn't be in school this week and changing Gabriella's official address with the letter that he'd had Eduardo sign before leaving the house this morning. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw his class all standing around outside the classroom. "What's going on guys?"

Two of the sophomores turned and said, "Troy."

Jack worked his way through the group. He looked in the window and spotted Troy.

Troy looked up because he saw someone approaching the door again. He was happy to spot his dad looking in at him. He walked to the door and opened it and ushered his dad inside. He gave a pointed glance to the corner that Shar had ushered Zeke into earlier.

Jack looked over and didn't immediately understand. "Uh, Troy? You're hanging out with Shar and Zeke in my classroom. What's going on—"

Zeke turned and looked at him directly.

Jack jumped, "Oh Shit! Here?"

Troy nodded, "Uh, apparently. What should we do?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck as a heavy breath flowed out of his mouth. "Well, kid, I think I need to take my homeroom class to the gym and you need to get these two out of the school and back home. I'll call their parents after homeroom."

Troy nodded, "Okay, should I get Gabriella?"

Jack shook his head, "No, she should stay here. I don't want anyone asking any more questions than they should. I've already informed the front office about her living in the house with us. I don't want them seeing you two skipping at the same time."

Shar cleared her throat, "Gabriella is living with you now?"

Troy looked over at her, "Uh, yeah, I guess I didn't really tell you guys yet." He rubbed the back of his neck. "How about I tell you about it, back at our house? Let's get him out of here."

Sharpay nodded, "Yeah, he looks like he's starting to have some pain."

Zeke's face was scrunched up. "Coach, why does my chest hurt? What the hell is happening to me?"

Jack sighed, "You're in transition, Zeke. We'll explain more throughout the day. We'll have your parents pick you up at the house." He turned back to Troy. "Remember, Ed is in the back apartment if you need some help. He's an experienced alpha too."

Troy nodded. "Okay. I guess we'll see you at home, Dad."

Jack nodded, "If both their parents show up before school is over, come back. I'll tell Mr. Matsui that you had a family emergency to attend to for me."

Troy nodded. "Okay."

Jack ran his hand through his hair. "This is insane. You are all so young." He gave Troy a look and headed out the door and began directing his class to the gym by saying that there was a mess where Zeke had gotten sick—which wasn't exactly a lie.

Troy straightened up the room and then ushered Sharpay and Zeke out to Sharpay's car. She told him all he had to do was press the power button because her key fab was in her pocket. He looked at her like she was crazy, but before long they were traveling down the back roads toward his house. Troy missed his old truck already. This thing had way too many computers in it.

Zeke groaned in the backseat. "Dude, you might want to drive a little faster."

Troy stepped on the gas. He pulled the car up to the garage and jumped out to help Zeke into the backyard privacy fence. He knocked on the apartment door. "Uh, Ed, I think I'm going to need your help. It seems two more of my friends are changing and dad is tied up at school. I don't know exactly what to do for them."

Ed gave Troy a knowing kind of look. It was one of those looks when the older person seems to know that the younger person has no idea what to do, but with one glance the older person knows exactly what's going on and how to handle it. "Come on, son. Let's get these two inside. I'll make up some of that tea and we'll get them settled."

Troy nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks."

Ed nodded and led Troy and his friends into the house.

* * *

Gabriella was feeling a little headache coming on, so she went back to her locker to get her small tube of emergency Excedrin. When her migraines came on, Excedrin was just about the only thing that seemed to work. So, she kept a small tube of maybe a dozen pills in her locker. This one felt like it was going to be a doozy. She swallowed the pills with a drink of water and then continued on to the gym to see if Jack had seen Troy. Lunch was the next class period for her and she knew that Mr. Collins wasn't going to miss her for the last two minutes of class.

She rounded the corner and ran into one of the football players, literally. The big guy was a linebacker and he was enormous. She briefly wondered if he was like a Werebear or something, but his interest in her brought her back to the present situation. She looked up at him, "I said I was sorry, Nate. I didn't mean to run into you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He stopped her from walking away. "Oh no, I think you owe me for that little run in, sweetheart. If you're good enough for Bolton to tap then you're definitely good enough for—"

She smacked him very hard across the face. "Don't you ever speak to me that way again."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Now, you're just gonna pay you little bit—"

Something took out his knees. As he was dropping to the ground, Gabriella looked up and saw Taylor with her book bag hanging from her hands where she'd used it to drop the big man like a rock. Taylor glared down at him as he wrapped his hands around one knee. "I hope Troy and Chad shred you when they hear about this, and they will hear about this. But keep this in mind you overgrown, lumpheaded fool, the girls in this school are smarter and better than you. We can kick your ass without our boyfriends. So, don't ever get this little scenario in your head again, because if I have to take you down again, I'm gonna make you pay dearly."

Gabriella just smiled at Taylor. Sure, Taylor knew she was a Were, but instead of waiting for Gabriella to show her hand, she'd jumped in to help her. Gabriella was feeling better all ready. She looked down at Nathan Johnson. "She's right, Nate. Don't make this mistake again."

He just groaned and moaned about his knee. He got up and hobbled off to the nurses' station.

Taylor gave Gabriella a high five.

Gabriella laughed, "That was awesome!"

Taylor chuckled a bit too. "Well I had the surprise advantage and I didn't want the school in on secrets I don't have yet." She met Gabriella's eyes and grinned. "You know I'd never leave you hanging like that."

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah. Let's go find Coach Bolton. I need to find out where Troy is anyway."

Taylor shook her head. "That's actually where I was heading. He caught me between classes and told me to tell you that Zeke and Shar are in transition and he's with them."

Gabriella's eyes were now the size of saucers. "Zeke _and_ Shar?"

Taylor nodded, "Is transitioning what Chad is going through?"

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, it is. When Troy and I went through it we must have just done some kind of accelerated version, because he and I both transitioned the same night and that was that. I mean Troy was in pain for a couple of hours, but it was nothing like this."

Taylor looked at her. "So is there something wrong with Chad?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, the adults are keeping an eye out. He's been checked over. Apparently what Troy and I did is abnormal."

Taylor looked at her. "And this morning I thought being a Were was abnormal."

Gabriella heard the joking tone in her voice. She smiled at her friend and they continued on to the gym.

* * *

Lucille was busy making the rounds. She had three pack members to visit. Two were older wolves who actually lived in retirement communities. One was in the hospital. She had a long standing friendship with several of the clergy around town. Wherever one of "her flock" was in the hospital, they'd go with her to check on them.

For some reason, the hospital staff never gave her problems when the men of God were with her. The rabbi and the pastor were related to pack members and so knew the secret. The priest, however, Father Manigan just felt it was his duty to help a pretty woman care for the sick and elderly. Lucille never minded being called a pretty woman. Nor, did she mind that he helped her for the sake of helping instead of her status as den mother.

Today she traveled with Pastor Mike though. Mike had been 29 when his younger brother went into transition during a bar fight. The other two men that had started the fiasco were Were that were just traveling through the town. Mike's younger brother Steven transitioned out of necessity. Mike had been astonished, but he'd gotten his brother to follow him back to the church and it just so happened that Jack had been driving back from a game that night and saw a large wolf following a human he didn't know. Since that fateful night, Mike had been an avid accomplice to the many functions of the pack.

Mike looked out the window. "So, the kids really transitioned at 17 and 18? That's just strange."

She nodded, "We're really not sure what to make of it. I mean to our knowledge there hasn't been anything that would force their early change. Things have been pretty peaceful actually. And, it's not like Troy really needed to fight to be with Gabriella. One day it was like he decided to like her and the next day they were attached at the hip."

Mike nodded, "Could it be some kind of evolutionary change?"

Lucille shrugged. "We really have no way of knowing that."

He nodded again. "Wow, they haven't even gone to college yet. I remember what transition was like for Steven. It was hard enough without having to cope with college life and no job yet. Steven was at least settled with his education foundation behind him."

Lucille nodded, "Jack was really concerned about Troy playing basketball at first, but it seems like he's gonna be okay."

Mike nodded, "Has he begun to adjust to his abilities?"

Lucille nodded, "Honestly, he seems more concerned with his responsibilities than his abilities."

Mike chuckled, "Well he is your child and the two of you have done an amaze job raising him."

Lucille smiled, "I like to think so."

Mike smiled at her as her phone rang. She tried to pick it up, but dropped it. Mike gathered it off the floor board in front of him and answered it. "Hello?"

Jack felt his hackles rise instantly. In a deep, threatening voice he said, "Hello. Where is my wife?"

Mike flinched. "She's driving us to the hospital to check on Mr. Castell. This is Mike, Jack. She's okay. It's just a clergy/den mother trip to check on the elderly."

Jack relaxed his back and let out a deep breath. In a much more relaxed tone he said, "Can you hand the phone to her please?"

Mike hadn't realized how scared he'd gotten until he handed her the phone and felt his body ease back into his seat. Damn Jack's voice could terrify him even through a phone with him physically miles away.

Lucille held her phone up to her ear. "Hey, sweetheart. What's got you so tense, baby?" She listened for a few seconds then said, "You've got to be kidding me? Alright. We'll make our stop quick and then I'll drop Mike off at the church and head home. Ed is there, right?"

Jack nodded, "He said he was planning to stay in today. He was thinking of going job hunting tomorrow, but today he needed to just process everything that's happened."

Lucille nodded, "I can't imagine that any of this was near what he was expecting, much less all of the younger generation transitioning. Alright. Well, then are you going to have practice? I mean three of your starting lineup is out sick today." She heard Mike laugh next to her. Then she said, "Okay. Good. Well I'll see you at home then."

They hung up and Lucille turned to Mike. "Two more started their transition this morning. Luckily Troy was there to get them out of the line of sight at school."

Mike shook his head. "Wow. What are you guys going to do?"

She shook her head as well. "I really don't know."


	31. What?

Someone Completely – Chapter 30 – What?

Shar curled up next to Zeke. She stroked his hair. "It's gonna be okay, sweetie. You'll be back to baking me cookies in no time."

Zeke's body trembled. He leaned back against Sharpay. "I don't know about that, sugar. This really hurts, babe."

Sharpay looked down into his eyes. "I'll find a doctor who can make it better."

Zeke smiled at her. "Thanks, but I think we're in the best place we can be."

* * *

Troy watched as Ed made the teas. With so many of his friends now in transition he had decided this was an important thing to learn. His dad and mom said that they helped new wolves, so this was something he would need to know. "Um, Ed, is there something else I should call you?"

Ed turned and looked at him. The kid still looked so young. He wasn't used to a wolf being so baby faced. "You mean since you're sleeping with and will likely marry my daughter?"

Troy swallowed hard. "Uh, yeah. But, well, is there some kind of wolf word for the father of my mate?"

Ed chuckled, "As animals we don't really have words, Troy."

Troy just looked at him. "Well, yeah we kind of do. I don't mean to be rude, but we're called Weres and the first change is called transition. The leaders are called Alphas. There's lots of words and I'm betting I don't even know half of them."

Ed just looked at the kid. "Well yeah, I guess you're right. There are words, but…" He sighed and glanced at the tea. When he looked back at Troy, he said, "I've been living as a Jaguar for so long, Troy. I'm not really the man to ask about this."

Troy nodded, "Sorry."

Ed shook his head, "It's nothing to be sorry about. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I've been chasing my girls all over the country for too many years now. I let go of so many of the human ties that now I feel like when she needs me most I'm an old dog with no tricks."

Troy smiled uneasily and said, "Wouldn't you be an old cat?"

Ed chuckled softly, "I suppose." There were a few quiet moments that passed between them. "Troy, promise me one thing."

Troy turned to him, "What?"

Ed ran a hand over his scruffy face. "Treat her right, Troy. She's stubborn like her mother and like me too, I guess. I mean her mother and I are still fighting the same fight we started almost 20 years ago. But, she respects the people who treat her right and she wants to respect you. She wants you to be the good man that she sees inside of you. Even if everything falls apart, if everyone is angry with you, just treat my baby right. She's my only little girl. Her brother doesn't even know she's his sister. She's never lived with a man before. And regardless of your baby face, you are an alpha male with a mate that makes you a man in the pack's eyes. You'll be treated as a full grown adult wolf. There will be other females who will want your attention. There will be several who are attracted to you who could have been your mate. You may not ever really fall in love with another wolf, but you are capable of cheating. You're going to have chances, Troy. But, please, please, take my advice and don't ever cheat on your mate. My little girl is too good for that."

Troy looked at the older man standing in his parent's kitchen. "Is that what really happened with you and her mom?"

Ed looked up at Troy from the blank space he'd been staring at, "I wish I could say that it wasn't true, but her mother had every right to be angry with me. And so did Judy. My kids grew up without me, Troy. Don't let that happen to you."

Troy caught the older man's eyes and said, "From what I've heard, you followed Gabriella all over the country. She didn't grow up without you. She just didn't know you were there. And trust me when I say, that she doesn't care about the fight between you and her mom, she just wants you both to be in her life, whatever that turns out to be for us. She still needs you, Ed." He paused, "And just for the record, I'd never cheat on Gabriella. She's everything to me, Ed."

Ed nodded as the tea started to boil. "Good."

Troy picked up the mugs and headed toward the stairs.

* * *

Taylor sat in front of Gabriella and they stared each other down. "It's down to you and me, Montez."

"Yes, it is McKessie."

The other kids in the room shuddered with fear. The two girls were supposed to be best friends. Now, they were staring at one another as though they'd been mortal enemies at first sight.

The moderator, a.k.a. the freshman Austin said, "For the final question please tell me who initially wrote about the concepts of social integration and regulation in the 1897 copy of Le Suicide?"

Gabriella's hand shot into the air as Taylor looked horrified.

Austin said, "Ms. Montez?"

Gabriella smiled triumphantly, "Emile Durkheim."

The whole room said, "Oh…" at the same time.

Taylor shook her head and let her shoulders fall, "I could remember that he studied suicide in Italy, but I couldn't remember what he wrote about in the book! Damn, I need to read that section again!"

Gabriella grinned at her friend, "It's all right you know why?"

Taylor grinned and met her eyes, "Because at the competition we're on the same team!"

The group all high fived and knew the competition was going to go off without a hitch. Taylor turned to the rest of them. "Okay, one more run through of the questions and answers on Thursday and then Friday West High comes here for the actual state championship in the academic decathalon! Don't forget anything between now and Friday! Dismissed."

Gabriella chuckled at Taylor, "Taylor I'm likely to forget my head if it isn't attached."

Taylor looked at her completely serious and said, "But you know all the answers to the decathlon questions, that's all I care about. Leave your head at home. Just snail mail me your mouth and brain."

Gabriella just looked at her. For a few seconds she couldn't tell if her friend was kidding or serious. Then Taylor let a smile split her face and Gabriella visibly relaxed. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you'd gone off the deep end for a second!"

Taylor laughed, "Guess what?"

Gabriella looked at her, "1897 is your new favorite year?"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "I get to see Chad tonight. His mom called my mom and explained and my mom said that I could go see him for a couple of hours tonight."

Gabriella hugged her friend. "That's great, Tay. Tell him hi for me and Troy, k?"

Taylor nodded, "But, I've gotta get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella nodded, "See ya." She turned to her locker and checked her watch. Troy would be done with basketball practice any minute. She'd completely forgotten about decathlon practice tonight before Taylor had reminded her gently at lunch. She smiled to herself. She might be going through the craziest stuff in life right now, but she was still top of her game at the decathlon stuff. She collected her books for homework and pulled her backpack out from the hook. As she turned around, Nathan was looming on the other side of the hallway.

He leered at her, "Your boyfriend is all tied up and your little girlfriend is gone now. So," he started to pin her against her locker, "where were we?"

Gabriella growled at him. She saw his small hairs stand up.

He looked down at her like she was crazy.

Troy rounded the corner. He looked up and saw her backed up against the wall. He grabbed the big guy by the shoulder and threw him back across the hallway. He stood in front of Gabriella and growled fiercely at the bastard who'd been touching his baby. "I'm trying not to kill you. You better fucking run. NOW!"

Gabriella watched with a smile as he took off running at full speed.

Troy turned to her, "Why did you let him that close? You could have stopped him at any time."

She looked him in the eye. "I wanted to find more subtle ways of running him off. I need to know what I can do before I go all golden-eyed and hairy." She smiled at Troy. "Though, I have to say, you were incredibly sexy."

He smiled down at her and put his hands on her hips. "I was really trying not to kill him when I remembered that you could have at any point."

She smiled, "You're going to need to be civil with him again."

Troy shook his head, "Baby, regardless of the fact that you weren't really in danger, I will still hate and threatened anyone who comes near you. Call me possessive. Call me controlling. Call me whatever you want, but if something happened to you, I would never forgive myself. You carry my heart and my future around with you everywhere you go. My life would be empty without you in it. I will protect you with everything in me, Gabriella."

She had watched his eyes as he'd spoken. They were a clear, bright blue. "What's wrong, Troy? What aren't you telling me?"

He looked at her and knew that she'd seen through his words. "I don't know how, but I have a gut feeling that something's coming, baby. There's trouble looming just around the corner. I can't put my finger on it. There's some reason that we're all changing early and I don't think it has anything to do with evolution."

Gabriella stroked the hairs on the back of his neck. "We'll be alright as long as we stick together."

He nodded, "I know, but you know the rule of the jungle…the weakest members get picked off the herd by predators."

She nodded, "That's not us."

He looked at her, "I'm the alpha, Gabriella. I have an overwhelming need to protect all of you. I have an instinct and a heart full of care that says I am responsible for everyone I care about, baby. You most of all, but everyone else too."

She looked him deep in the eye. "You are one man. We protect each other. All of us protect each other. There's more than force or might in any battle. There's also trust and faith. Trust us to protect you as much as you want to protect us."

Troy felt his eyes filling with tears of frustration. "I can feel this threat building, but I can't see it."

She nodded, "Then it's time for us to rally the troops, honey. It's time to bring everyone together."

He kissed her. "No matter what happens, I love you, Gabriella. You mean everything to me."

She smiled, "I love you too, Troy. You are my whole world." She kissed him and held him close for a few moments. She knew he was crying on her shoulder. A few quiet moments passed between them. Then she heard him taking a deep breath and saw his hand move to wipe the tears. Sure enough, when he stood back up, his red eyes were the only telltale signs of his fears.

"Let's get home."

She nodded, took his hand, and closed her locker.

* * *

**Just to be fair, I'm going to throw in this author's note. The next few chapters are going to rock and they'll each be cliff hangers. :-) I've been so excited about the story that I've been shaking as I write it.**


	32. Author's Note 2

_**Hey guys! I'm throwing in an author's note here:**_

_**It looks like I went a little too fast with uploading chapters, in the last week I did several rapid fire uploads. There have been I think three or four new chapters. Sorry, I've just been so excited with the turn of events in the plot line. So, if you're confused, go backwards. **_

_**That being said, I decided to hold off until most everyone is caught up and ready to move forward. There are two full chapters completed and ready for uploading once we're all on the same page again. When you're ready message me or post a review to let me know. I think a bunch of people got left behind there.**_

_**I'll try to make sure there's enough time for everyone to read the new chapter before I post the next. I am back to being a few chapters a head now. I really think it's getting good!**_

_**OH and just a little tidbit…there's a shower scene to die for coming very soon! :-P**_


	33. Meetings

**_Okay, looks like we've got several people ready to move on, so...here we go! :-D_**

* * *

Someone Completely – Chapter 31 – Meetings

"Jack, what's happening? Why'd you call Zeke instead of me?"

Jack turned around and looked at Derrek, "I didn't call this meeting, Big D. Troy did."

Derreck, a.k.a. Big D, looked at Jack like he'd lost his mind. "The kids are running the pack now?"

Jack shook his head. "They work together as a team much better than those of us who are older. We all have our own lives, D. Let's hear them out."

Derreck nodded, "Sure, Jack. You know we'll all follow you."

Jack nodded, "You feel it too?"

Derreck nodded. "Yeah. Talked to Danforth lately?"

Jack nodded, "Every damn day this week. Something's coming."

Derreck nodded again and the conversation was done.

Jack walked up through the crowd in his backyard. He couldn't figure out how the kids had figured out nearly every member of the pack without his help. When he made it to his kitchen table, he knew why…Lucille stood next to Gabriella, while Troy and Ed collaborated across the table with them. He laughed, "Started the plan without me, then?"

Troy looked up, "Dad? I know I should have cleared it with you, but—"

Jack held up a hand. "Time is of the essence. What have you all been working on?"

Troy looked at him eye to eye. He was searching for any anger or warning. He saw none. "Well, we've pulled everyone in to tell them to be on watch. I've talked to the ones that mom said actually live outside the town lines and asked them to come in and stay with other pack members. Mom arranged places for everyone. Ed took another look at the town and figured out the best places to stash anything we might need or backup necessities." He looked at Gabriella. "And my mate and I have been arranging our generation of the pack."

Jack looked at him a little confused, "Arranging them to do what, Troy?"

Troy looked at him, "Guard the kids."

Jack stopped. He'd felt a fight building, but he hadn't thought of someone being so cruel as to come after the kids directly. He'd been taught years ago that children were off limits, because they couldn't be Weres yet. Now, he was beginning to understand that he'd taken that rule for granted. Just as he'd been taught, he'd become a teacher to guard and help guide the younger ones onto their lives either human or Were. He'd never considered the need for a full guard around the kids. He looked at his son, "I would have never considered that."

Troy nodded, "I know."

Lucille walked up to Jack. "His instincts are just as strong as yours are. He's right about this, Jack."

Jack looked down at her.

Gabriella walked up to Troy, "We're of like mind on this. This is why we think we've all changed early. Shar told us when she got here that Ryan and Kelsi started transition last night."

Ed walked over to the two couples, "Jason came to me this evening. As soon as I mentioned his little sister Callie, he started transitioning as well. All of them are changing, Jack."

Jack nodded and looked around at the group that had become his family. "Gabriella, we should inform your mother that they need to be on guard. She won't believe us, but we have to try."

Gabriella nodded, "She wouldn't speak to me when I called this evening."

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella, "We're gonna try again after we have the pack meeting."

Jack nodded. He felt tears prickling his eyes, "Thank you." He looked around at his family. "All of you."

His eyes stopped with his son. They nodded to each other.

Jack turned to the assembled group. He looked around and saw that Ed had brought in several of the other Weres from nearby packs and Weres like him who were usually solo. "We need to talk."

The room grew quiet. Jack looked around again. "I'm sure many of you have felt it. There's trouble lurking. I wish I could give you more than that, but to be honest, we really don't know more than that. As I'm sure many of you have heard the younger generation is transitioning now. For reasons we had been unable to understand until recently. It started with Troy, who is their alpha and his mate, Gabriella Montez."

A male teenager said in a rough voice, "Soon to be Bolton…"

Jack turned and didn't recognize the kid. "Who are you?"

"Nathan Johnson, sir."

Troy stood and glared. He pulled Gabriella back behind him and was obviously tensed.

Jack shot Troy a confused look.

Troy glanced at his father for no more than a split second. He knew that Ed was on the other side of him. That meant that Gabriella was behind a wall of alphas. "What are you doing here, Johnson? Didn't I—"

Nate glared back, "Try to put the fear of an alpha in me earlier. Yeah, you tried."

Troy felt his hackles rise and his fangs and claws release. "What are you doing here, Johnson?"

The larger boy glared down at him, "My dad is the Werebear that lives out in the mountains just beyond here. I'm relaying the message."

Troy stepped closer. "Are you Were?"

Nathan deflated a little. "No."

Troy let out a breath. "Then you're just—"

"Really big, yeah."

Troy leaned back. "Why would you—"

Nate shook his head. "What am I supposed to do?"

Jack was watching the exchange, "Troy?"

Troy looked at Nate. "I know exactly what you're supposed to do, so long as you keep your hands to yourself."

Nate nodded.

Troy pointed to Taylor and Martha standing in the corner. "You're gonna be Taylor's right hand man, her enforcer."

Nate smiled, "You have a place for me?"

Troy nodded, "You're a linebacker on the field, right?"

Nate nodded.

"Same idea. Go where the quarterback tells you. In this case, Taylor is the quarterback."

He walked over to Taylor who glared at him, "Don't forget what I said this morning, Johnson."

He looked down at the floor like a child who'd been chastised. "Yes, ma'am."

Taylor nodded, "Alright." She nodded at Troy as though the idea was acceptable.

Troy looked at Taylor with concern. He had no idea what exchange had happened between Nate and Taylor this morning, but he knew what the bastard had tried. "We'll talk later, Tay." He turned to Jack. "I'm sorry for the interruption."

Jack looked at him with concern. "We'll talk later as well."

Troy nodded his understanding. If anything he was at best second in rank here. He might be the younger generation's alpha, but his dad was the alpha of the pack. "Yes, sir."

Jack took the meeting back over. He informed everyone of what they knew. He didn't give out specific orders with the exception that those who generally lived outside of town stay in town. He informed Nate Johnson that he wanted to meet with his dad directly tomorrow at dawn at the forest's edge. Nate had said he would let him know. He told them all to be on guard. He called a few names at the end of the meeting and asked them to stay back. "Everyone else, keep your guard up. If you notice anything out of the ordinary or that raises your hackle, tell me immediately. I will be reachable 24/7." He looked at the younger generation, "Same goes to you. I know you're accustomed to going to Troy, but I'm still Coach. You come to me first."

The teenagers all nodded their understanding.

Jack looked at Troy. "Anything else?"

Troy looked around, "I want to talk to my generation afterward."

They all nodded again. Then Jack said, "Alright, go home everyone."

They all dispersed. Troy watched as his generation began to move toward him and Gabriella, but mostly he watched his dad working with the many Weres who had questions and who'd been asked to stay behind.

Ed came up to him, "You know you don't have to learn everything tonight, Troy. You're dad is an incredible fighter. You aren't going to need to take over the pack for a long time."

Troy looked over at him. "I just always thought that everyone liked him cause he's a good guy. But, seeing him do this…"

Ed smiled, "They do like him because he's a good guy, but he's also their alpha, Troy. They don't have to follow just any alpha. They choose to trust your father just the same way your friends choose to trust you."

Troy looked around at his friends. Most of them looked like they were in pain or half transitioned. He felt for them. They'd come anyway. They'd gotten up and pulled themselves across town when their whole lives were literally changing just because he'd asked them to. Gabriella was right. They'd be okay as long as they stuck together and his friends had just as much faith in him as he had in them. "Okay, guys, here's the deal."

After everyone had gone, Troy cornered Taylor at the door. "What happened this morning?"

Taylor looked shocked, "You should really ask Gabriella about that."

Troy looked concerned again. "Taylor she didn't let him hurt—"

Taylor shook her head, "No, but you need to talk to her."

Troy nodded, "Alright."

So, Troy headed upstairs to where his mate was already getting set for bed in their room. "Honey?"

She spoke from the bathroom. "Yeah?"

He leaned against the doorframe. "Honey what was Taylor talking about before with Nate Johnson? Did something else happen this morning?"

Gabriella turned and leaned back against the counter. "Yeah, actually it did."


	34. Completely

Someone Completely – Chapter 32 – Completely

Troy quirked an eyebrow as if to ask 'what happened'.

Gabriella sighed, "Everything you saw this afternoon was a repercussion of this morning. After you left with Zeke and Shar, I went on about my day. I noticed you weren't around, but I didn't want to draw attention to it, so I decided to go see your dad. I left class a few minutes early telling Mr. Collins that I needed to speak with your dad regarding arrangements for the decathlon on Friday afternoon. He let me go and I headed out. I stopped at my locker to get some pain killers for my headache and then went on to the gym. On my way, I literally ran into Nate. He got this cocky look on his face and told me I owed him for the slight. Then he proceeded to allude to what I might owe him."

Troy's face was growing increasingly furious. He wished he'd known all of this earlier.

"So, I smacked him and told him never to speak to me that way again. He didn't think much of that. It just so happened that Taylor was coming to find me with your message and found us in the hallway. She walked up behind him and swung her backpack, which is always full of books, into his knees. He dropped like a rock and she proceeded to scold him."

Troy was red in the face now. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier, sweetheart? Why didn't you call me when it happened?"

She just looked at him, "Troy he couldn't have actually done anything to me. I would have stopped him before he touched me."

Troy stared at her. She really was unphased by Nate saying and doing the things he'd done. "That doesn't really matter. What matters is I need beat him into the ground."

She glared at him, "Because girls can't take care of themselves?"

Troy furrowed his eyebrows, "No, because the bastard needs to learn how to treat women!"

Gabriella was pretty frustrated, "And I promise you, that between Taylor and you beating him up today, he's probably gotten the message!"

Troy looked at her, "Why are you yelling at me?"

She brushed past him, "I—I don't know."

"You defend him and yell at me?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "He's a fool who doesn't know any better! You are an incredibly powerful, intelligent man who could hurt him more than he could dream! Yeah, I expect more of you than to beat him up!"

Troy's eyebrows raised, "Just out of curiosity, is there anyone I'm not supposed to coddle and take care of?"

She looked back at him harshly, "You know that's not what I mean!"

"You want me to 'teach' him and 'help' him and take pity on him. HE FUCKING TRIED TO HURT YOU!"

She looked at him, "I know, but I know he couldn't have actually done it."

He looked at her, "And what's to stop him from trying and actually hurting a girl who isn't a Were, baby? What am I supposed to do with him then?"

She glared at him, "That's different!"

Troy scoffed, "Why? Because he got lucky and chose someone he couldn't hurt this time?"

She looked at him, "No harm, no foul."

He shook his head. "No, no way. This is not basketball. You are too fucking important to play street rules with! I will not sit back and 'help' some asshole who threatened you."

She looked him in the eyes, "First of all, Taylor and I handled it and if you hadn't have shown up when you did, I would have handled him then too. Second of all, you need him to communicate with his dad. Third, you incorporated him into the defense yourself in front of the whole pack. What are you going to do say 'oops my mistake'? "

He stood there. "Damn it, Gabriella! Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

She looked at him, "Because you can't protect me 24/7! Some of the things that happen to me are not yours to fix!"

He stopped and looked at her. She was right. He was supposed to be her mate, not her body guard. "Okay, so what am I supposed to do, Gabriella? He needs to be punished for treating women badly. I'd love to crush him for treating you badly, but you won't let me do that."

She looked back at the floor as she sat down on the side of the bed. "I don't know, honey. I don't know anything at this point. It just feels like the world is closing in on us and I have to save everyone that I possibly can. It feels like it's the town against the world right now. He could be a good ally."

Troy looked at her, "Baby," he sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms, "you have the whole pack as allies." He kissed her, "And you will always have me watching your back. That's why I am so upset. I failed today. I failed to know that some important, something dangerous happened to you. I'm supposed to have your back if something happens, but it was Taylor who actually saved you this morning. That's supposed to be me."

She looked at him, "Troy you were here saving our friends. I'm not mad at you for that. That's why I kept saying that he couldn't have actually done something. I am stronger than he is. I am more deadly than he is. There was no way for him to actually be dangerous to me, but I am dangerous to him on a physical level and a social level. If the school knew you were pissed at him because of me, he gets ostracized by the entire fucking school. Add in the pack throughout town and the kid pays an ultimate price for a lesson he needed to learn and move on from. Except no one would ever let him live it down here. He'd always be 'that guy.'"

Troy leaned his forehead against hers. "You always think so far ahead. I'm still on beat him up for hurting my baby and you're considering what his rep will be five years from now."

She looked into his eyes from under her lashes, "We're more powerful. We have a greater responsibility to those who are not as powerful."

He nodded, "So, we're back to you want me to take 'care' of him."

She shook her head, "I want you to let _me_ take care of my own problems. I can handle him and so can Taylor. If you go beating things into his head he'll get the idea that women aren't 'strong enough' to protect themselves. That's what he needs to learn, Troy. He needs to understand that women can hurt him too and so he should be very careful about his attempts to dominate."

Troy's eyes flashed, "That's it, isn't it? He's taking it too far."

She nodded, "Yes and no. I think he really believes he has no other choice for obtaining affection of any kind."

Troy looked at her, "Then what incentive does he have to stop."

Gabriella smiled, "Did you see the smile on Martha's face when he answered to Taylor like a kid put in his place?"

Troy gave her a surprised look, "Really? Him and Martha?"

She nodded, "But he needs to know that Taylor and I will pummel him for stepping out of line with her."

He smiled, "Alright. I concede. Fight your battle, baby."

She gave him a smile that combined satisfaction with just a little bit of innocence and cockiness, "Thank you."

He laughed, "You're welcome."

She grinned and leaned back, "Now, come here Wildcat. I need you to do something else for me."

Troy's eyes flamed with lust. "Yes ma'am. Anything you want."

She laughed, "I have this little bundle of nerves that could use some release."

He chuckled as he climbed on top of her. "But there's all these clothes in the way. How am I supposed to make it all better?"

She smiled, "Follow me." She got up and walked into the bathroom. Once there she turned on the shower and began to strip.

He watched her as she teased him with her shirt. She turned around and played with her nipples for a moment, and then she pulled her tank top up, but not completely off. The she turned back around and slipped her hand into her panties so that he could see her touching herself. He smiled and felt his dick getting stiffer. "Let me see a little more skin, baby."

She smiled teasingly. "Hmm…"

She turned back around and pulled her panties down. She bent over all the way so that she could slip the panties off of her feet one by one.

He groaned, "Oh yeah…"

She smiled when she saw his dick out in his hand. She stood back up and actually pulled her tank top off and slipped into the shower before he could get a peak at her tits. She heard him moan.

He smiled as she teased him. Now, he was feeling like chasing her into the shower and trapping her against the wall to do very naughty things to her. As he dropped his pants all the way to the floor, he felt his erection pull at this body. He was completely ready for his favorite pussy.

He got into the shower and found her standing there with a little soapy suds running down her tanned skin. He watched as she played with her own tits, rubbing and tweaking the nipples. He was leaking precum already. He shook his head at her, "Quit teasing me, damn it." He pulled her to him and turned her around, he whispered in her ear, "Fuck me, mate."

She purred her approval and pressed her ass along his very hard dick, "Take what you want, baby. Cum in my pussy. I need it."

He groaned as the warm water ran down between their bodies. "I need you. Now."

She arched her back so that he could get to her pussy easier. She felt his hands slide up her stomach to her tits. He was groping her breasts and nibbling on her neck. She moaned. It all felt good, but what she really wanted was him inside of her. "Oh, Troy," she grunted, "OH, Please," she begged, "Please, Troy, fuck me. Please…."

He reached down and positioned his dick to slide up into her. As he did, she impaled herself on his cock. Her begging mixed with her soaking wet, warm pussy and all the teasing was taking its toll on him. A second good thrust like that and he was sure he'd lose control and this would be over entirely too soon. So, he gripped her hips and in a rough, commanding voice said, "NO. Stop. Wait." He held her where she was.

He breathed a few times and tried desperately to calm himself down. He closed his eyes and thought of waterfalls, but then when he looked at the bottom, she was naked in the water waiting for him. So, he imagined puppy dogs. That seemed to do it. He felt himself ease just a bit. So, he opened his eyes. Just as he was about to let go of her hips, she started playing with herself again. He could feel it. He broke and let her go. He slid one hand up to her tits and played with them while he let her fuck him as hard as she wanted to. He simply bit his lip as hard as he could and tried to hold off as long as possible.

He looked down and saw the way the water was flowing over her ass and across his dick as she would move back to the tip of his rock hard penis. Then he'd see and feel her forcefully push back onto his dick. It was the best fucking view in the world. "Give me a little more, baby. I'm about to—" He cut off as he felt his balls tighten up and every muscle in his body clinch tight. He felt the cum rushing out of his dick into her. First there was a rush one huge release that felt like the perfect wave. Then he felt a few, quick convulsions as he leaked the rest of his cum into her warm, wet, silky pussy.

He wanted this feeling to last forever. Fucking her was the best thing he could possibly think of and this time had been hot as hell. He leaned forward a bit as his body gave out on him. He felt a little more cum rush from his cock into her full pussy. He wrapped one arm around her stomach and braced one arm on the wall as he felt her break with her own orgasm. His dick was still inside of her just a little bit. She was spasming in his arms as her body crested the waves of ecstasy. "That's it, cum for me, baby. You like it when I cum inside your pussy, don't you?"

She smiled a lazy smile and collapsed in this hold. "Yeah," she breathed. "I fucking love when you get off in me."

He kissed the back of her neck. He laughed softly, "So, do I."

When they found the energy, they cleaned up and got into pajamas. She curled into his body and let hers mold into his. She sighed contentedly, "That was perfect."

He kissed her head, "I couldn't agree more."

She laughed and ran her fingers over his chest. "In some ways we're really lucky."

He nodded, "I don't know what I would have done without you."

She nodded, "It almost feels like I've just always been here."

He looked up at the ceiling, "It feels like we've just always been together, but I know we haven't."

She enjoyed the feeling of his fingers lightly wandering her skin in a lazy kind of way. "I can't imagine what I would have felt if you'd ended up mated to someone else in the pack."

He shook his head, "It was never gonna happen, sweetheart."

She smiled and kissed his stomach. "Well, it doesn't matter, because you're mine now."

He nodded, "Yes, I am, baby. Completely yours."


	35. Tunnels

Someone Completely – Chapter 33 – Tunnels

Troy twisted in his sleep. He was aggravated. He was growling and grunting. He whimpered, then he was awake. He tried to catch his breath as visions from his dream still tangled his mind. "Oh God…"

Gabriella had turned her back to him and curled up in her Jaguar form closer to the wall. He'd found lately that she seemed to love sleeping as a Jag. Normally, he would curl his strong arms around his kitten and sleep protecting her back. But, his dreams had been serious and he knew now what his human mind had been unable to translate. His feelings were becoming thoughts, images now.

He turned to Gabriella, "Baby? Honey, wake up. I need you to help me. Please, baby, come on…"

She rolled to him, but the sense of urgency in his voice had her heart pounding and her mind functioning quickly. She licked his face.

"Baby, we need to get down to the daycare center across from the school. I know how they're going to do it. I know what we need to do."

She whined at him.

He looked into her golden eyes, "We have to open up the tunnels connecting the schools, baby."

Gabriella shifted and looked at him, "I thought they were just legend?"

He shook his head, "Chad, Zeke, J, and I found them freshman year. Some of them are clogged up with crap and one or two are actually gated off. If we can clear them, we have the escape route we were looking for. I need your help."

She nodded, "What time is it? Should we call the others?"

He shook his head, "Nah, Nate will be up to meet my dad and his. I'm gonna bring him in for a little bonding time with us. The three of us should have no problem."

She shook her head, "Bonding time?" She got out and grabbed some panties and a bra for herself. She tossed Troy his boxer briefs and then took a quick second to enjoy the feel of his hands wrapping around her body to reach into the dresser for his jeans.

He kissed her shoulder and up to her neck. "I love you, Gabs."

She smiled and took in a deep breath as his wandering hands made her senses come alive. "I love you, too. Don't tease me. With all this tension in the air I think I'm a little more energized than normal."

He shook his head, "Oh God, I just figured out what mom meant."

She groaned at the intensity that his touch was producing in her.

He licked the skin along her neck. "You're in heat, baby. Fuck."

She cried out a few whimpers as he said it. "No, not right now. This is so not helping matters."

He tried to let her go, but there wasn't enough will power in the world for that battle. So, he decided maybe quick was better. "A quickie, baby. The faster we are, the less time we spend trying to fight it?"

She groaned and ripped her panties out of the way. The now threadbare garmet laid at her feet. "I need…OH God, Troy, please!"

He pulled his cock out and immediately pressed up into her. "How can I get you off fastest?"

She put her hands on the edge of the dresser so that she was somewhat bent over for him, "Hard, baby. Fuck me hard."

He did just that. He wasn't concerned with anything except feeling right now. He needed this as much as she did. He felt that twisting feeling gathering in his stomach. "Baby…"

She groaned her approval as he slammed into her again. "More…"

He normally would never be this careless with her, but he had to get them there fast. He put his hands over top of hers and thrust into her until he felt her thrusts getting erratic. He bent his mouth to her ear and said, "Give it to me, baby. Cum for your wolf." He grunted as his own satisfaction was building. "Cum, Gabs. Be my bad girl, baby."

Something in her broke and she felt that wave of release rush through her. Seconds later he was finishing as well. They very quickly cleaned up and dressed again. Troy pulled her to him for a deep kiss before they rushed out of the bedroom. They grabbed their backpacks and jumped in his old truck.

Troy drove them to the outside access point. He opened what looked like an old tornado bunker. However, once he had the doors open, it was obvious to Gabriella that this had been some kind of loading zone. Troy pulled out two flash lights and walked into the tunnel.

They heard voices at one point and Gabriella was shocked to look up and see Jack, Nate, and a man she assumed was Nate's dad standing to the side of a grate that was now over her head. Troy called for Nate and got the big guy to move the grate and jump down. Jack replaced the grate, but said nothing.

Gabriella nodded to Nate and followed Troy on up the tunnel.

Nate followed Gabriella shortly thereafter.

* * *

Troy and Nate pushed some heavy desks and old office furniture aside as Gabriella took a look at the chain and padlock. Once she was sure the rust had weakened the lock, she simply gripped it and yanked hard. No one was oblivious to Nate's expression of shock.

Gabriella proceeded up the tunnel and Troy held Nate back with a hand to the big guy's shoulder. "I know about yesterday morning. You get one thing through your head right now. You touch any woman without her consent and I won't have to rip you to shreds, Nate. The females in this pack will tear you apart…and I'll let them. Do you understand me?"

Nate looked over at Troy's violet eyes staring back at him. Nate didn't say anything. He was trapped with a Were who had ever right to be pissed off at him. When Nate had started to explain the situation to his dad, the old bear had literally knocked a foot out from under him and growled down at him as he found himself on the forest floor.

Troy relaxed, "She's gonna have a word with you. Don't cross her, Nate. The only thing in the world I protect more fiercely than our pack is that woman. I consider you pack just as much as Jason and Zeke. Don't think I won't give them the same warning, but don't be fooled either. Never lay a hand on her."

Nate nodded and waited to be allowed to walk on. Troy motioned for him to go ahead and Nate essentially did as told.

Troy felt better. Gabriella would probably be frustrated with him, but he felt better. She was right in that Nate needed to learn a lesson without it being publicly fought. None the less, he was her mate. Her being in heat intensified his need to protect her. On a rational level he knew that it was an animalistic need to protect possible off spring, but his animal didn't care about rational. His animal cared about the strong, agile cat roaming the tunnel ahead of them.

When they reached the elementary school, they looped back through and made sure that the path was clear to the Junior high and the daycare center. As Troy went ahead to check the basement door to the center, Gabriella stayed back with Nate. "I know that he has warned you about me."

Nate met her eyes, but didn't speak.

"But, there's a bigger point here, Nate. You can't treat women like that."

Nate looked toward the floor and shook his head.

Gabriella looked at him, "What? Speak your mind."

Nate looked at her, "Like a girl like you would ever look at me, if I didn't. Girls look at Troy, not guys like me. I'm not stupid."

Gabriella sighed, "There are girls who look at you. There are girls who like big guys. Some girls feel more safe with a boyfriend who's the biggest guy in the room."

He shook his head, "Only until a guy like Troy walks in, then guys like me don't matter."

Gabriella shook her head, "Is that what you really think girls think?"

Nate kicked a stone across the floor.

"Don't be foolish, Nate. A, not all girls are alike. B, I know for a fact that there are girls who see you that way in our school. Hell there are girls in our pack who see you that way." She saw Nate's head turn to her.

"But, I'm not Were. I was the weakest guy in the room last night."

Gabriella smiled, "And yet, I still saw eyes follow you."

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter."

She grabbed his upper arm hard enough to get his attention. "Don't you dare treat my friend's feelings like that."

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Who?"

Gabriella smiled, "You'll figure that out for yourself. But, I'll tell you this, you hurt her, you even suggest that you might hurt her the way you were talking yesterday and I'll gut you like a fish. There are things you still have to learn about girls. I get that and I don't envy guys for their cultural responsibility of reading girls and knowing when and how to woo a partner. None the less, you flirted with the line yesterday, Nate. You never get that close to the line of hurting a woman again. Understood?"

Nate looked her in the eye. "You're not just lying to me are you? Cause, now I've got my hopes up and if they crash…"

She nodded, "Open up your eyes, Nate. There's another person out there who just might understand."

He nodded, "Is that why you're with Troy? Cause he understands something about you?"

She smiled, "Troy and I are alike in a so many ways. We seem very different because of the popularity given to sports versus academics, but really we're a lot more alike than different. Besides, he's my mate in every way. I wouldn't trade him for the world even if I had the chance."

Nate gave her a half smile, "I really wish someone would say that about me."

Gabriella smiled. She patted him on the back. She turned as Troy walked up. "Ready?"

He nodded, "You?"

She smiled and kissed him quickly. "Yeah. Nate?"

Nate nodded, "Yeah."

They turned and started back to Troy's truck. Once there, Gabriella hopped in front with Troy and Nate hopped in the back and rode the way most of the basketball team had at one time or another.


	36. Daylight

Someone Completely – Chapter 34 – Daylight

Troy was going to go with Chad to the kindergarten class at the elementary school. They were "student teaching" the gym class today for two class periods. Then Zeke and Jason were "student teaching" story and nap time at the elementary school for two class periods. Then Gabs and Shar were "student teaching" the music and letters time. And somewhere along the way, Jack was spending his prep period checking recess equipment on the playground.

The daycare across the street, it just so happened had two teachers who had been at Jack's house the night before. Zeke's mother ran it and one of the younger women had begun working for her just a few months earlier.

It was going to be a long day regardless of who was where. Troy had thanked Nate for his help and then told him he was going to hang back with Gabriella for a few minutes. Nate got the idea and headed into school.

Troy turned to his lover and smiled, "I have this fantastic place picked out up on the roof."

She laughed, "Let's go."

Once amongst the leafy inhabitants of the high school, Troy pulled her into his arms. He kissed her intensely. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I need you again, baby."

She nuzzled his neck. "So, you can smell me?"

He nodded, "And every time I get a strong whiff of your scent it makes me hard. I'm dying to be inside you right now."

She giggled and tucked herself into his arms and allowed him to pick her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. "Troy, this is crazy. We shouldn't even be physically capable of sex every few hours."

He smiled, "I'm a teenage guy, baby. I've _been_ capable of sex every few hours. It's just when you're in heat like this, I'm not only capable. I NEED to have sex with you every few hours."

She looked down into his eyes, "Troy what if this happens while someone is attacking. We don't even know who it is we're preparing to fight against or when the attack will come."

He pulled one hand from its place supporting her backside to hook her hair behind an ear. "I don't know, baby. I don't know anything right now. I just feel this overwhelming sense of tension, like a fight is about to be waged. I have no idea what it means. I don't know what will happen or who is threatening us. I don't have any idea what we'll do if you and I are struck with this during that fight." He looked into her eyes, "All I know right now is that I need you. I need to make love to you…badly."

Slowly a teasing smile spread across her face. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Play with your kitten, alpha."

He growled a soft, seductive, commanding kind of growl. He didn't say anything. He simply placed her on the bench and took each of their clothes off. He held himself over her and leaned down to her ear. He whispered in his husky, commanding alpha voice, "Accept me, mate."

She spread her legs and wrapped them around him.

He very slowly slid his dick into her pussy. "Just in case you should ever question," his husky voice continued, "you are everything that I love in this world. You'll always be everything to me."

Meanwhile, downstairs a buzz was beginning to stir the student body of East High. Sharpay had gotten the mass text just like everyone else had this morning. Whoever had taken the video of Troy and Gabriella in the pool had apparently gotten pissed that it had been taken down and so, they had texted it to the entire student body.

Chad came storming around the corner. "Shar? Tell me this wasn't you!"

Zeke growled a quiet warning.

Chad stared back at Zeke eye-to-eye.

Taylor finally caught up to Chad and stood looking at the two wolves. She touched Sharpay's shoulder.  
"Shar? Do you know that number? Neither one of us have a name for it."

Sharpay shook her head. She'd begun to glare as Zeke had responded to Chad. She looked over at Taylor and remembered what they were discussing. "Oh, here." She tossed her shiny pink phone to Taylor. She put her hands on Zeke's shoulders. "Calm down, baby. I'm perfectly fine," she whispered into Zeke's ear. She smiled as she felt Zeke's hand sliding back against her hip. "See, my favorite furry boy, I am completely okay."

Zeke took a deep breath and stepped back. As he did he slid an arm around Sharpay's waist. "Yeah, uh, sorry man. Just, you know, a little overprotective today."

Chad tucked his arm over Taylor's shoulder. "I get it. We're cool."

Taylor rolled her eyes and shrugged out of Chad's arm as she moved over to Sharpay's side. She missed the very sad look on Chad's face. "OMG! Shar…I know who it was!"

Sharpay looked over at her phone in Taylor's hand. "Who!"

Taylor took off. Sharpay took off after her. The two boys were left to follow their women.

Taylor spun her on her heel and slammed the girl against a locker. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

One of the girls who'd been waiting to see if Troy and Gabriella would break up on the front lawn of Zeke's party that weekend stood directly in front of Taylor. Her smirk was undeniable.

Sharpay backed the girl up against the locker next to hers. "Nobody pulls a stunt like that and gets away with it."

The girl's boyfriend started to puff up his chest, but Chad and Zeke stood between him and the girls. No way was some little punk going anywhere near their girls. Chad held up a hand. "Nah, now's a good time to back off, dude."

The guy just cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. I was just gonna pull Stace away. I'm not looking to hit a girl or nothin'."

Zeke shook his head, "Nah, see Stace here caused some problems that she needs to answer for. You can pull her away when the girls get their answers."

The guy backed off and faded back into the crowd.

Stacy on the other hand got up in Sharpay's face, "Stupid bitch thinks she can just claim Bolton and nobody's gonna stand up to her? Fuck that! Bitch wants to be a slut and let anybody watch her get fucked? Well, now everybody's seen her get fucked, haven't they?"

Sharpay grabbed the girl by the shoulders and growled softly, but harshly. Her voice was just loud enough that Taylor and Stacy were the only ones who heard her, "You delete the vid, or I spread around town that I know who your daddy is and I'm not talking about the one you introduce to everybody."

The girl went as pale as a white bed sheet that had been freshly bleached. "You," her eyes filled with tears, "wouldn't?"

Sharpay glared down at her. "One of these days you idiots are going to learn that it's not about what you tell everyone, but what you _can_ tell everyone if it suits you." She backed up and in a louder voice said, "And don't ever disrespect Gabs and Troy again!" She turned to Taylor, "I just can't stand jealous little twits."

Taylor looked at Stacy with a glare.

Stacy caught her eye, "What?"

Taylor smiled, "Just imagine the thirty-three ways I can use what I've learned in Chemistry to make you disappear. See you around, Stacy."

Chad looked at Taylor with a whole new level of respect. He then followed her like a lost puppy dog down the hallway. Unfortunately, he ran into the back of her when she came to a screeching halt behind Zeke and Shar who stood immediately in front of Gabriella and Troy. Chad spoke up, "Aw, damn dude. How long have you been there?"

Gabriella's tear filled eyes answered the question rather succinctly.

Taylor reached forward, but Gabriella was gone and headed for the bathroom before either Sharpay or Taylor could react. The girls went after Gabs and Troy found himself surrounded by the other male members of his generation. It seemed the guys were more concerned with Troy lashing out than they were about needing to comfort him for the humiliation.

Jack stood pacing at the front of the school. Chad and Troy should have been here by now. They'd each agreed on shifts at the elementary school. Jack had agreed to meet with each pair before they headed over and when they returned for a full report. Now, the first two were late. He was getting worried.

Just then the two boys came bolting around the corner and Jack felt his chest ease. "Where the hell have you two been?"

Troy ran his hand along his hair as he'd always done when he was busted as a child. And as always, he was standing next to Chad and glancing over at his life-long best friend as he did it. "Uh, hey dad. You know, we just got caught up saying bye to our girls." He tried to laugh it off and hoped that his dad didn't have to get wrapped up in all of this crap with the video again.

Chad nodded, "Yeah, you know Troy here's such a sap when it comes to Gabs now."

Jack nodded, "Yeah, I've noticed. Look, just do me a favor, keep your mind on the school for today, alright? Just keep focused for these two periods so that we know they're safe."

Troy nodded, "You got it, dad. We'll be back at 10:40."

Jack nodded, "Good luck. And remember, anything happens, anything feels weird, you call me ASAP!"

Chad nodded and held up his phone, "We got it, Coach."

Jack hugged Troy and watched as the two younger versions of himself and Danforth walked out of the school and into harms' way without him there to protect them. He just kept reminding himself that they were both young, strong Weres who could take care of themselves. He turned and went back to his classroom for homeroom.


	37. Earthquakes

Someone Completely - Chapter 35 - Earthquakes

Gabriella cried. She leaned back against the bathroom wall and just let herself cry. She'd forgotten about the party and the video. It felt like a million years ago now. She'd always been a bad girl sometimes, but it was things like this that had caused her to take on that clause that she would always party in a different town or school district than she went to school in. It was stupid girls like Stacy who thought that they should be _allowed_ to take things out of context. It was a party. Most people had been completely drunk. Who hadn't been with someone or made a complete ass out of themselves at a party?

Taylor knocked on the stall door, while Sharpay just shimmied underneath it and into the stall. She opened the lock and went to sit next to Gabs. "Oh sweetheart, she's just jealous. She's been here for years and Troy's probably fucked her a few times and then it's like he realizes that you're alive and no one else exists. She's miserable and she's just trying to make you miserable too."

Taylor sat across from them. "Gabs, you knew this might happen, right? I mean Coach had the video pulled off youtube, but that didn't mean that it was permanently deleted or anything."

Gabriella nodded as she wiped a few more tears from the end of her nose. "No, I mean, I knew it was still out there. I just seemed like the party was ages ago. I had forgotten about the stupid video. God, I feel so stupid now."

Shar hugged her which forced Gabriella to lean over against her shoulder. "Oh Gabs, we've all done something gossip worthy. Why do you think I keep all my little secrets stashed up about everyone?"

Taylor raised her eyebrows, "I never thought I'd say it, but her little secrets actually did some good today."

Shar smiled, "That's right. And you know what, I've got tons."

Gabriella shook her head, "No, we can't do that. I mean thank you for trying to protect me, but we can't do that, you guys."

Taylor looked confused, "Why?"

Gabriella pushed her hair back, "Because we need to lead by example. Especially Troy and I, we have to be respected, not feared. We're leaders now and we have to act like it."

Sharpay looked at her, "But, it wasn't you who threatened her, Gabs. It was your—"

Taylor jumped in, "Your enforcers. Just think of us as your line backers."

Sharpay looked at Taylor over Gabriella's head as she hugged her close again. She mouthed the words, "Line backers?" with an expression that showed her confusion. "Yeah, honey, we're your enforcers."

Gabriella just laughed softly against Sharpay's shoulders. "Oh, Shar like you really know what an enforcer or a linebacker really is?"

Sharpay smiled, "See, that's the reaction I like to hear. What else can I say to make you laugh?"

Gabriella leaned up again, "Thank you." She looked across at Taylor, "Both of you. I couldn't ask for better friends to have beside me."

Taylor smiled, "Not so long ago I didn't understand you, and I said some terrible things. But, I think I'm beginning to get it now. Or maybe it's just that you're allowing yourself to be integrated. Either way, I'm glad that we can do this. I'm glad that we're all in this together."

Gabriella nodded and the three girls shared a giggly hug.

* * *

Troy looked around the building as thoroughly as he could without looking scary himself. He knew that Chad was watching the people more than the objects. Troy wanted to know if some_thing_ was out of place. Chad would notice if some_one_ was out of place.

He caught Chad's look. "What man?"

Chad shook his head. "Nothing."

Troy looked around the gym and out to the recess area, but from the side of his eye he could see Chad looking at him worriedly, "Dude, you're really distracting. What?"

Chad sighed, "Well, we all thought you'd react by now. I mean that video of you and Gabs went out to everyone. We all know how furry protective you get of her in normal circumstances. Aren't you pissed about this?"

Troy shook his head, "We have other things to focus on right now."

Chad nodded, "No, I get it. It's just—she was pretty upset back there."

Troy nodded, "I know, but she knows that I love her. She knows there's nothing I can do about that now. _She_ also knows that we have a job to do today that's way more important than any rumor."

Chad nodded and looked around again. "Man, I'm just saying, if someone posted a video of Taylor and I going at it, I'd kill the bitch that did it."

Troy shook his head and looked directly at Chad. "Dude, it was just a stupid high school prank designed to upset Gabriella and make me not want her. But the stupid girl failed to understand what Gabriella and I have. That girl, whoever she was, doesn't even matter in my world."

* * *

The earth began to shake. Troy looked around the East High classroom and spotted every member of their pack currently present. They immediately sprang up and headed to the doorway. Two blocked people from going anywhere but along the hallway's edges and the other four got into the hallway and started helping teachers arrange students along the walls in their drill style positions.

Troy couldn't think of a better place for students to be when the fight reached them. He could feel it. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that 2 miles away, the battle was already underway without them. He finally found his dad, "What do we do? How do we help?"

Chad was immediately behind him with Zeke and Jason quickly in tow.

Jack looked down at Troy, "You'll have your chance to fight."

Troy saw something in his father's eyes he'd never seen before. There was a fire that Troy would never have associated with his loving, basketball-pushing dad. Then he saw a flash of despair ghost through his eyes and he knew whatever could be hurting his dad would be a wound to him as well, but he needed to know. "What's wrong?"

Jack looked back at Troy and then at Zeke. "Boys, there's no point in keeping this from you. The elementary school and pre-school have been destroyed. We don't know yet who got out and who didn't. It's a little crazy over there to take a head count."

Troy looked like a crazed man. Then in the flash of a millisecond, he was in full wolf form ready to sprint directly to Gabriella.

Jack motioned for Chad to get a hold of Zeke even as Jack grabbed Troy by the scruff of the neck. He waited a few moments as the two tired themselves briefly. He looked both wolves in the eyes, "We don't know what's happened yet. All we know is that this fight is someone else's fight that's spilling over into our realm."

Troy cocked his head to the side. He let out a cry for his mate. He needed to be with her. Within his mind, he was racking the thoughts trying to figure out why he would have ever agreed to a plan that put her outside of an arm's reach from him.

Zeke shifted back to human form, "My mom? My mate? Alpha?" His voice held desperation and despair. There was a fear that only comes from sudden understanding of loss in his eyes.

Jack wrapped a blanket around the boy's shoulders. "Both of you sit here amongst the other students. You're our last resort. Anyone you don't trust gets through you can vent every feeling of pain on them you like. You'll know your enemies when you see them.

Troy sank against the wall. He was shivering in human form again. He was sick to his stomach. He'd failed. He only wished that he had died with her.

That was when the building shook again as though the earth were about to open up and swallow them whole. He felt the shaking, but couldn't bring his mind to register what could possibly have the power to shake the earth this way.

An enormous boom was heard throughout the school coming from the roof overhead. Troy jumped along with every other student. He heard a number of screams. He saw the majority of kids wrapping arms around each other, now completely terrified by the idea that whatever it was, it was big enough to kill them. Suddenly clique affiliation no longer matter. At this point, everyone was as close as brother and sister.

Troy met eyes with Zeke. They both transformed into wolves and sat like two guardian watch dogs over the hallway lined with students.

* * *

Big D, a.k.a. Derreck Baylor was fighting furiously with Danforth and Eduardo right beside him. He felt the wings beginning to tear under his fangs. The "good" angels had told them that in days of old, the gargoyles had torn holes in the demon's wings to keep them grounded before the gargoyles went in for the kill. So now, Big D began puncturing holes in the wings of this demon as well. He knew Eduardo was spoiling for something to beat on and Danforth would be glad to see this all ended.


	38. Holes

Someone Completely – Chapter 36 – Holes

Troy felt his heart pounding in his rib cage. He wondered briefly if this is what Gabriella had felt just before they were attacked or if she'd even been aware more than a split second before—He shook his head and brought his thoughts back to the present. If these kids were to be protected, he had to stay focused. He looked around at the faces he'd seen every day for years. They all seemed so young and fragile now. They all seemed so vulnerable.

His eyes stopped on Zeke. Zeke, his buddy, one of his closest friends was not only capable of helping him; he was here in the thick of the fight with him. Troy felt some grief for the pain Zeke also felt right now. He and Shar hadn't been officially mated yet, but they were definitely meant for one another. As if that weren't enough, Troy knew Zeke's mom had been in the preschool.

Then Troy's mind began running through the plan again. Zeke's dad had been among the best fighters in the pack. Troy finally remembered that Zeke's dad would already be out there fighting as well. Troy's eyes lingered on his friend and willed him to know he understood the pain to a degree. Troy made a decision within himself. Leadership was going to be left to his co-captain and the coach when this was over with. He and Zeke needed to be other places.

Then another boom followed immediately by another earth-rattling shaking. People began whispering about the building holding up and one boy asked if they could get out of there.

Troy shook his head side-to-side. He flicked his head toward a window that was in the classroom directly across from him. Zeke turned to look. Outside he could see glimpses of the battle and knew there was nowhere for them to go.

It was dark outside. It looked as though a strong storm had rolled in and claimed all the sunshine that had been beating down this morning. Now there was almost no light outside at all. A dark cloud of dust was saturating the air outside and simply blocking the sun's rays. Troy watched that window for any sign of the battle. He knew Zeke was watching the doors.

* * *

Big D had just taken down one more angel as it dove for the ground in an attempt to get away from the "good" angel it was fighting. Big D had done an old maneuver he'd learned years ago. Eduardo would crouch down like he was getting ready to pounce. No one ever thought anything of that. Instead, Ed would spring straight up as Big D used his back like a spring board to get some added height to his jump.

The angel had never seen him coming. Now, thanks to that puncturing and tearing idea, he'd downed another enemy.

* * *

Jack watched from the entryway of the school. He'd sent Chad and Jason to the other main entrance in the back of the school. He had Nate and Taylor and Martha ready with a variety of contraptions that Taylor and Martha had been working on all day in the auditorium under the lie of production and stage prop design. He stood here and another young wolf stood at the only remaining entryway. Jack was not appeased though. These were angels. They didn't really need a door to get into the building.

Danforth had been able to get to a phone just after the fight had spilled over into their territory. He'd told Jack about the "good" angels and their advice on fighting techniques. He'd also told him that they had explained a few things just before the preschool and elementary school had been demolished.

Weres were descendants of Gargoyles. Where ancient Gargoyles had only come to life to defend the sacred places of mankind and God; Weres had evolved the ability to transition and transform in order to protect their fellow man. In Jack's mind that had immediately clicked with Troy's thought that the younger generation was transitioning early to protect the children.

Jack had questioned him about his thoughts on these "good" angels. Danforth had told him that while he knew in his heart that they were on the better side of things, they were still willing to kill their own kind and were still willing to fight even in places where humans and Weres might be hurt or killed. He told Jack that he'd rather not trust them explicitly. He did, however, mention that they looked very much like he would have expected and that puncturing their wings was doing the job of keeping them grounded.

Jack watched now as a flurry of dust whipped into the air at the front of the doors. He knew they were directly overhead now. As he watched he began to make out the shape of wings batting maybe twenty feet from the door and ten feet off the ground. He was marveled for a moment. Then his Were instinctually responded to one as prey and the other as ally.

Jack waited for them to actually breech the building. He wouldn't join the fight unless he had to. However, if either set of wings entered this building in any way and he was going after the prey.

* * *

Taylor sat watching everything within sight. She had her bat in hand. She occasionally glanced over at Martha who sat shaking in fear. In Martha's defense, she was trying desperately to hide it, but her body simply couldn't be controlled entirely. Taylor had smiled briefly when she'd sent Nate to check on the student body. The big guy had stopped next to Martha and asked if she thought a hug would help her.

* * *

Chad paced. He wanted to be sitting with Taylor. This was all wrong. The Weres should have been split up and each placed with one of their human counter parts. As it was, Taylor could be killed before he could get to her from here. He'd seen Troy and Zeke when they'd been told about the preschool and elementary school buildings. He couldn't even breathe when he thought about Taylor being harmed. He couldn't believe Troy and Zeke hadn't just bolted as soon as he and coach had let go of them.

That was when the second boom had sounded overhead and Chad had begun to smell the beings fighting above them. He didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that they were powerful and had somehow gotten above his head. In fact, the entire fight seemed to be happening several feet in the air right now.

He glanced out and saw every loose dirt particle fly into the air. The wind from all of this must have been chaos.

* * *

Nate's father, Marcus, let out a growl as a bad angel flew toward him. He waited and waited and at the precisely right moment, he whipped a giant paw through the air and shredded a wing.

There were seven the "good" angels had told them that they were fighting against. So that meant that the Weres had downed at least four now.

Marcus looked around. Something was going to happen. It was going to be catastrophic. He just couldn't see the signs yet. He knew in his gut that something was about to rattle his world.

* * *

There was a breech in the school. It didn't come through a doorway. It came through the ceiling. One angel landed and lifted off again from inside the hallway adjacent to the gym. The hallway, Nate Johnson, had been running down to report back to Taylor.

Troy heard the implosion and then he heard someone screaming. He bolted for the sound. Zeke stayed behind. As he reached the pile of bricks and dust, he heard Jason yelling for the person to tell him where they were in the pile. Troy shook his head and began digging in the softest place he could find. He got a hold of Nate's sleeve and tugged a little to get his attention. Nate looked back at him and whimpered. Troy barely registered it as Nate said, "I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my legs!"


	39. Pain

Someone Completely – Chapter 37 – Pain

Troy dug out as much as he could while Jason picked up the bigger boulders. They managed to get Nate mostly out before Taylor got there. She immediately stopped them and assessed the situation. "Troy, find a flat, sturdy piece like a brace board out of the nurses' office. Jason, come over here. You're going to help me get him out in one piece."

Troy ran for the nurses' station. He knew they needed to do this quickly before any more of the roof fell on him and before any other breeches opened up the building to the outside world. He snatched the board from its hiding place and proceeded to drag it back to Taylor's waiting hands.

Taylor looked at him, "I need you to transform back so that you can use your hands."

* * *

Jack cringed when he heard the building give. He had begun to race to the commotion, but had immediately seen two of the prey variety stalking toward the front doors of the school when he'd turned. He whipped back around and saw the two evil doers duck back behind a wall again.

Jack smiled maliciously. He waited. That was his trick. Jack was the most patient fighter around. He had infinite patience when waiting for an opponent to make the first move or slip up somehow.

* * *

Derreck let the angel swing him around in the air. He kept his jaws clamped down on the bastard. He knew that Eduardo was giving the angel's legs hell too. He just hoped the big black cat didn't get stomped on for his troubles.

Derreck realized now that throughout the battle he'd seen Ed's eyes come alive again. He'd seen Ed in a daze that had seemed to consume him for years now, decades really. Derreck took a risky glance at his long time ally. Ed's eyes were full of attention and thrill. He was a Were with plenty of energy and rage to use in a fight.

Ed leapt one more time and yanked hard at the calf of the angel and down the enemy came.

* * *

Troy held Nate's head perfectly still as Taylor and Jason eased the big guy onto the back board. Once he was placed, Taylor strapped him to it and made a makeshift neck brace with some padding from a busted chair and two strips of cloth she'd torn from the bottom of her shirt. Troy stood back in awe and decided that Taylor needed to go to medical school if only so that she could come home teach him the things he might need to know.

Taylor looked up at Troy, "I'm going to the nurses' station. There's got to be a pain killer of some in there somewhere. I'll be right back. Make sure he doesn't move and hurt himself further."

Troy nodded and sat down next to him. He sent Jason back to Chad and told him to have Chad go watch with Martha who was now alone at an entrance.

Troy looked down, "Nate, man, this is not what I had in mind."

Nate gave a half whimper, half laugh. "Who did?"

Troy shook his head. "We'll get you to a hospital. We'll find a way, dude, I promise."

Nate cried out in pain again.

Troy dropped back into his thoughts. _Gabi, did someone get you to a hospital? Maybe an ambulance? What if one of the kids got hurt, she wouldn't stop for anything…not even to call me. Maybe she's in Were form and can't call. What if she lost her phone in transformation?_ Another wail pulled Troy back out of his thoughts and to the present.

* * *

Taylor looked around the station. There had to be a locked draw or cabinet where the nurse kept prescriptions for students and teachers. She'd found the key in the desk drawer. Now she just needed the lock. Scanning the room again, she redoubled her efforts as she heard Nate's scream tear through the hallways.

There in the back on the wall. She found it. She walked back. One lock, one key. She inserted and turned the key quickly. She dumped all the bottles into her bag and started scanning them as she walked back to Nate. She'd dropped him like a rock two days ago. Now, here she was trying to fix him.

* * *

Jack heard the scream, but he also heard his wolves moving around the hallways as well. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but he knew Troy was taking care of it. For now, he sat at ease and watched and listened for the first sign of movement. He was an experienced fighter. Waiting for the fight was something he was skilled at doing. He could make his opponent believe he was oblivious all day long. The trick was to only seem oblivious.

* * *

Sharpay turned and surveyed the line behind her. "16, 17, 18, 19," she mumbled to herself. Everyone was there. Well, everyone she'd managed to get into the tunnels before the weight of the building debris brought down the opening to the tunnels. She tried not to think about it now. She had little kids looking at her like she was their last hope. She couldn't cry over Gabriella or the others now. She had to get these kids somewhere safe. If only she knew where these tunnels were taking them. For now though, they were safe enough.

* * *

Troy looked at Taylor, "Anything that can help him?"

Tay held up a bottle. "This will for now. But, we gotta get him to an ambulance. He could have internal bleeding and there's nothing I can do for that. Plus, I have no real way to scan for concussions which I'm sure he probably does have with all the rubble that was on top of him.

Troy nodded, "I'm going to make a call." He led her a little ways away. He hoped at this distance with the fighting going on outside that they were out of Nate's earshot. "Taylor I'm worried. Dad would be here unless something's happened to him or is about to happen up front. I'm gonna try to get somebody to bring an ambulance around back." He ran a hand through his hair, "But, I want you and Martha in that ambulance with him. Something goes wrong, get the hell out of town. You hear me? Get out. Because I've already lost—" He couldn't say it, so he changed tactics. "Chad won't survive losing you, Tay. And frankly one of us has to have it together after this."

Taylor bit her lip. She stroked his cheek. "You don't know that she's gone. Gabs is resourceful. If I were going to bet on anyone, it would be her."

Troy shook his head, "I can't think about that now."

Taylor nodded. "What about the rest of the students? Could we get them onto buses?"

Troy shook his head. "One ambulance is small enough to hopefully get through, but a line of buses becomes a target and significantly harder to miss."

Taylor looked around. "There's got to be a way to get them out of here."

Troy looked at her. He started to smile. He kissed her on the forehead. "You're a fucking genius, McKessie!" He started running for the hallway. Along the way, he called Pastor Mike. "Hey Pastor Mike, you still know the EMT guys?"

Mike sounded rattled, "UH, what?"

Troy stopped and sighed, "Pastor Mike, focus for me. Just listen to my voice for a second. I need you to answer a question for me."

Mike cleared his throat. "What's the question again?"

Troy took a breath. "We need an ambulance. Can you arrange one with those EMTs that used to go with you and mom when you had emergency calls for our family friends?"

Mike chuckled, "You mean pack? Yeah. Uh, in fact, your dad had me call them yesterday. We're out at the preschool right now. How bad is your friend there? Isn't that where the fighting is now?"

Troy heard Nate groan again, "Yeah it is, but he's paralyzed at least from the waist down and Taylor's worried about internal bleeding and I don't know any other way to get him out of here. One ambulance might be able to get the job done, but trying to get him on a bus would be hard and it would take to long."

Mike called out to someone.

For a brief moment Troy thought he heard Gabriella's voice on the other end, but it was garbled and difficult to hear. Then the voice got closer and Troy realized it wasn't her. His heart went from leaping to torn in milliseconds. He felt the tears coming back to his eyes. Then he heard Mike's voice again.

"We're on our way. What entrance is best, Troy?"

Troy cleared his throat and wiped his nose on his hand. "Uh, the back one. Do you know where the old gym doors are?"

"Yeah. Be there ready to load him up in seven minutes, Troy."

"Chad, Taylor, Martha, and Jason will be there with him. Mike, take Taylor and Martha with you. It's not even safe for us in here, much less them."

Mike agreed and asked what he was going to do with everyone else.

Troy paused a second, "Mike?"

The Pastor responded, "Yeah?"

"Is Gabriella—have you seen—is my mate—" Troy heard the change in the Pastor's voice.

"Son, I've been running around helping everyone I can. There's a lot of hurt people here. I just don't know."

Troy let out a breath. "Seven minutes?"

Pastor Mike agreed again and hung up.

Troy realized after he hung up that Mike never asked where his dad was or what his dad was directing people to do. That thought hung heavy on Troy. He'd been wondering if something was wrong before the phone call. Now, he was sure. He wondered how many losses he could survive. Then he heard screams and another loud boom echo through the halls and he took off running for the hallways where the students were currently hunkered down.


	40. Passageways

Someone Completely – Chapter 38 – Passageways

Zeke looked up at Troy as he rounded the corner in human form. He looked over at his locker and remembered finally why this hallway had been chosen for them to hide students. He opened his locker and grabbed some clothes for him and Zeke. "Dude, human form. We're out of here. Do you remember the tunnels?"

Zeke transformed and looked at Troy with haunted eyes. His pain was evident and gut-wrenching. He didn't speak. He just nodded and put on the shorts Troy was handing him.

Troy felt for the guy, but he was also sympathizing with him. If Gabriella was really dead, he didn't know what he would do. Half of him was dying to run from here directly to the preschool and elementary school to find her, alive or dead. At least he could know. Then Troy heard one of the students ask, "You said something about the tunnels. I know where they start."

Troy smiled, "Then I want you at the middle of the group. We get separated and you get as many people as you can to the entrance. Alright?"

The kid nodded.

Troy looked at Zeke, "You're on my six, dude. Bring up the rear. Leave no one behind."

Zeke nodded and started moving toward the other end of the hallway with the kid in tow.

Troy turned to the few still sitting near him. "Pass it down the hall. Follow me."

The buzz started and soon student's were standing and clinging to one another. Most of them were desperately ready to be anywhere but here.

* * *

Jack sat quietly watching. He heard a mass exodus and figured Troy had a plan in motion. He didn't glance back to see. That would mean taking his eyes off of what he was sure were the last two enemies. There was just a feeling in his gut that was telling him if he could dispatch these two everyone would be safe.

* * *

Ed was standing just beyond the far corner of the high school watching the two who were watching Jack. He had no intention of losing his cool and his advantage. Regardless of desire, he and Derreck could only handle one at a time and frankly, Derreck was looking the worse for wear now.

Ed wondered if Jack had spotted him yet. Jack had always been the first to find him when they'd trained as young alphas. He would crouch down ready to pounce and the others would try to find him before he got them. Ed knew that Jack would never give them away. So, he had no real idea if the other alpha had seen him or not.

* * *

Sharpay cringed. She wasn't used to this much attention from little people. She didn't know how to fix this. She was scared herself. She wanted to cry for her daddy or her Zeke. Instead, she held on to the little hands at either side of her and tried to make sure they all stayed together in the tunnels.

* * *

Troy was happy to see that the students seemed to be keeping with him. He had them down in the tunnels now. He knew there were others who knew where they were going too. He felt like if they could make it out to the forest's edge they'd be alright.

At some point, one of the girls had asked if they could stop and take a break. She was getting very tired. So, Troy had told them to sit down for a moment while he checked up ahead. That was how he'd ended up several yards away from the others when he began hearing shuffling feet and child like whimpers.

He felt his stomach begin to flutter. He jogged further ahead of the group. He called out, "Gabriella?"

Sharpay heard Troy calling for Gabs and that was the last straw. She stopped and felt the tears pouring. The kids crowded just behind her and clung to her.

Troy came jogging up to find Sharpay standing crying, guarding a small group of little children. His heart broke again as he looked at the tiny terrified faces. He looked back up at Sharpay and saw her shake her head no as he realized his hope was showing on his face. He felt tears begin. She was dead. He'd lost his mate. He dropped to the ground.

The kids surrounded him and then the teenagers started catching up to them. Suddenly this section of the tunnels was full of older brothers and sisters hugging little siblings and sibling's friends tight.

Troy looked up as Zeke's voice was heard for the first time in a while. The relief in it was unmistakable as he'd said, "Sharpay?" with a reverence that only came from that first shocked healing of a broken heart.

Troy dropped his head back down onto his hands. He couldn't help but think that he'd never have that moment. He simultaneously felt as though he couldn't move and as though he needed to fight and tear and claw and kill the enemies above.

Then as if the little kids could sense his boiling rage, one of them came over and said, "Please can you get us out of here, Mr. Troy? Please?"

Troy looked up into the face. He felt the wet tears staining his face and he knew without a doubt that this little boy and all his classmates were his reason for going on now. He felt his heart wrench as he thought, _Gabriella would never abandon them if she were here. And she'd be pissed at me if I did. _ He swallowed hard and he stood up. "Come on, little man. We need to go up there." He pointed at the ladder that led to the grate above. The same grate that Troy's dad and Nate's dad had met at this morning before heaven's battles had rained down into the Were's territory.

* * *

An angel landed hard in the front walkway leading up to the school's front door. It was the ally that Jack had been hoping would keep him from having to fight at all. He looked over. The one demonic angel had taken over the fight with the ally after the original angel dropped lifeless and dissipated into smoke. Now, he essentially had one and a half enemies to handle.

The two enemies approached the doors. They were blatant now. There seemed to be no fear left in them. Jack watched as they assessed him. Then he watched as they blew the doors off the front wall. He sat in the middle of the foray of the school calmly. His lack of reaction seemed to unnerve one of the angels. He liked that but made no show of it.

They separated and began to circle around Jack. Jack sat calmly. He could feel their movements. From here he could go either direction. If he stood and watched, he would be more limited. So, he followed the feel of them as they moved around him.

Ed snuck into one of the windows of a classroom. He dropped down and began a slow steady creep toward the front of the building. He had Derreck coming up from outside.

It was time for payback. He'd watched his daughter go through life for years. He'd been protecting her at every turn. Now these bastards had put her and the son he'd never known in danger. Angels were supposed to be the good guys, but they'd put his kids in danger. As far as Eduardo Montez was concerned, they were going down…all of them.

* * *

Troy led or held the few little ones without older siblings as they crossed into the edge of the woods. He was surprised, but thrilled to find three large brown bears there. They had intelligent eyes and immediately one transformed and wrapped herself in a sarong to talk to Troy. "Nate's dad thought this is where he would run if something went wrong. Jack agreed. We're here to help you in whatever way we can."

Troy nodded and then felt a tear and a smile grace his face when one little girl ran up to her. "MOMMMYY!"

The woman swept her little one up into her arms and held her tight. "My baby! OH thank God!"

The group began to follow the woman into the woods to a cave nearby. It was one of the places that Ed had chosen to stash some supplies. The bears literally stood guard outside the door as the older kids and younger kids got first aid and food and some much-needed safety.

* * *

Lucille rounded the corner. She hadn't hunted in years, but now it was on. After looking after several of the wounded and scared at the preschool and elementary school she'd seen Mike. Pastor Mike had told her where he was headed and that it had been Troy, not Jack who'd called. Lucille had immediately transformed and rushed to the school. She'd seen the danger outside, so she'd pulled up short and hunkered down in this brush outside the school. She'd spotted Ed and Derreck and knew Jack was just inside the doors, otherwise those bastards would have just moved in already.

She darted for the end of the other wing of the entrance. She would come up from the left even as Derreck and Ed came up from the right. Jack didn't know any of them were there, but none of them would leave him to fight alone.


	41. Breath

Someone Completely – Chapter 39 – Breath

Troy wandered amongst the group. Everyone was being taken care of for whatever they needed. The Werebear woman, Karen, had told him when they got there that the adult Weres had been split up throughout the town so that no matter where the children came out, there were Weres to help them. She told him that some of the others would be here shortly. They'd put together phone networks for the parents years ago to let each other know if there was trouble.

Troy let himself wander to the back of the cave where it was quieter and cooler. The slight bit of darkness made it possible for him to watch out over all of the kids in his charge and still have some privacy to mourn his loss.

He sat in a corner. He hadn't believed she was gone until Sharpay had been crying in front of him. The bitter part of him was angry at Zeke for getting Sharpay back. At the same time, he was glad that Zeke wasn't back here with him mourning. He felt more tears slide down his face and he brought his hands up to cover it. He was in so much pain he didn't know what to do. It hurt so much. He had never known he could hurt this way.

He tried desperately to keep his mind from wandering over the nights they'd spent together and all the times she'd been there inside his arms. He tried to not think about the feeling of her pressing against him even just this morning. He could almost smell her and it hurt with an ache that bore down into his soul. He found himself thinking that he wished he had died with her. He wished he could have been there and died next to her. It was insane. It was almost suicidal, but it was true. This pain of being without her was unbearable. He couldn't do it.

Zeke walked cautiously back toward Troy. He could feel the pain radiating off of him like sunlight pouring down on your skin on a hot day. He stepped up beside Troy. "Alpha?" He said in a deep rumbling voice.

Troy wiped his face and looked up. "Yes?"

Zeke sat down. "Is there anything—"

Troy shook his head.

Zeke nodded and looked at the guy next to him. He didn't look anything like the commanding presence he'd been at the pack meeting. Now he looked like a scared, hollow, broken version of the guy Zeke had been trailing after since grade school. The guy was one of his best friends and given the earlier fears on Zeke's mind, he knew the pain Troy was feeling now. He knew the torture.

Zeke patted his back. "We don't know anything for sure yet, man. Shar told me what happened. There's no way of knowing who all made it out back there, dude. She might still be helping little kids."

Troy shook his head as his head dropped and his shoulders shuddered in tearful convulsions.

* * *

Jack saw the injured angel step a millisecond before he spotted yellow eyes rounding the corner. Jack side stepped the enemy and let Ed take him down. The angel was injured and caught off guard and was now in prime position for Ed to attack.

Jack on the other hand turned immediately to the last remaining enemy. He bit the wing where he could. He drug his teeth down through the membranous skin. To his absolute astonishment, he looked up and found a soft brown wolf, his mate, attacking the angel as it began to swipe toward him. Then as if Ed and Lucille hadn't been surprise enough, he saw Big D leap in front of him.

Ed finished the injured one and the four Weres surrounded the one remaining.

They waited…and waited…and…the angel leaped up and out of the building and jumped up to be caught by something or someone that carried it away.

Jack turned to the others. He transformed and smiled, "Tell me that's all of them."

Ed met his eye and the other two howled their happiness. It was music to Jack's ears. They'd survived. He walked over and grabbed his shorts from the bench. He pulled a cell phone from a cargo pocket and immediately called the Werebear mother. "Karen, tell me they're there."

She chuckled, "Troy, your dad wants to talk to you."

Troy smiled and hopped up. He took the cell phone. "DAD!"

Jack let out the heaviest breath he'd ever held. "Son! Did you get them all to safety?"

Troy let out his own breath. "A lot, I don't think all of them. Most of the little kids got cut off from the tunnels." His breath caught again as he said, "Dad I think Gabriella's—"

Jack heard the pain cut through the phone as though it was shearing his skin from his bones. He knew the pain was extraordinary. He'd thankfully never been through it, but even so, he pulled Lucille to his body. He held her as he said, "We don't know that for sure yet, Troy. I'll go to the preschool now."

Troy whimpered, "I want to go. I need to see her…dead or alive. Please, daddy?"

Jack felt his heart clinch. Troy hadn't sounded like that in years. "Go. I'll send your mother up to look after the younger ones. Give Karen back—"

"Hello? Jack?"

It was Karen's voice that cut him off. Jack knew that Troy was on all fours sprinting to the preschool even as he'd finished saying the word go. He sighed, "He's gone?"

Karen smiled to herself. "Yes. He's been tormented beyond what any young man should ever have to feel. I almost told him to go join the fight a little bit ago, but he's an alpha. No one was going to make the decision for him but you."

Jack kissed Lucille's head. "I have Lucille here next to me. We're going to sweep the high school and then stop by the preschool on our way up to you. We'll know more when we get there. In the mean time, anyone who gets to you, stays with you, understand?"

Karen agreed and hung up the phone.

* * *

Troy ignored the feeling of paper cuts as he dashed through leaves. Then he ignored the feeling of burning on his paws when he flew over the blacktop. Finally, he ignored the cuts he was accruing from the debris of the school.

Even as he registered the destruction around him, he was looking for her. He was terrified and scared and hopeful all at once. He looked for any sign of her. There was none. He jerked at every sight of black hair. He felt his heart in his throat each time he saw a female about her height.

As he moved through the camp-like setup the EMTs had begun to use to do first aid, he was losing hope. He'd been here for 20 minutes now. He'd seen many of these faces already, but neither had he seen her or heard her call out for him.

The only thing that kept him going was that he hadn't seen her body laying lifelessly anywhere nor had anyone said that they had seen her. That meant that she was still yet to be found and may still be out there somewhere or hiding somewhere.

* * *

After quickly realizing that everyone had managed to evacuate the high school, Jack drove them over to the preschool. The sight of the children, especially the little ones had torn him a part. They'd immediately dove in and started getting kids checked and piled onto the two buses that were taking them to their parents at the forest's edge where they 'd be met in the cave with everyone else.

Lucille finally saw Troy. She went over to him. "Sweetheart?"

Troy jumped and looked at her. "Mom?" He wrapped her in a tight hug. "Have you seen Gabriella?"

Lucille sadly shook her head slowly. "Still haven't found her?"

Troy swallowed, "No." His voice broke and he looked down. "I don't know what to do, mom. I'm scared. I can't find her and it hurts so much. Too much." He felt the tears falling again. He hadn't cried this much since he was four. "What do I do, mom?"

Lucille tucked her grieving son in her arms and tried to console him, but she knew there was nothing she could do to take his pain away. He'd have to breathe. In fact, he'd have to take one breath at a time and she told him as much as she gently spoke to him and held him.

* * *

There was still so much to do. Evening had fallen on the town of Albuquerque, and it lay in shambles.

As the sun dropped below the horizon most of the inhabitants were returning to family homes and trying to just assess what items of normalcy they still had. Troy had gone home when his father had dragged him away from the pile of rubble where the stairs leading down to the basement had once started. Sharpay said Gabriella had been there trying to help the kids get to the tunnels where Sharpay had already been.

Now, Troy lay in his bed limp and crying. His mate was gone. He felt as if someone had ripped his beating heart from his chest. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat. He just laid there breathing in her scent from her pillow where she'd slept with him in his arms the night before.

He couldn't remember anything anyone had said after Sharpay had told him where she remembered seeing her last. He'd stood staring at that pile in complete and udder shock. He'd known there was a lot going on around him, but he hadn't registered any of it.

Troy's eyes stared out onto his wall as his body threatened to tear itself apart from the inside out. He didn't know what to say when people asked him what they could do, so he simply didn't say anything. He just laid there in pain and trying to remember to breathe the way his mom had told him to do. He just tried to breathe.

At some point, Troy's eyes opened as his lips let out a scream. He'd been dreaming about her. He'd seen her there as the concrete boulders had fallen on her and he couldn't reach her. He'd been about to touch her hand when she'd been buried. He'd woken screaming out for her.

After waking up enough to remember reality and know he was alone in the world again, he got himself up. His sheets were soaked with tears and sweat and dirt from the day. It was still the early hours of the morning, but he got into the shower and cleaned himself off.

He got shorts and a pair of shoes on, before he left for a walk. He found himself at the pile of rubble where she lay buried. He felt the cold sweat on his skin again. He felt the tears returning though he'd thought he had no moisture left to create them. He let out a breath and lied down on the rocks. As he laid there quietly, he thought he heard the sound of kids crying. He looked up and saw no one near. In his pain riddled mind he began to wonder if this was what people meant by hearing ghosts in places where great human tragedy had happened.

Then he heard the sound filter up to him again. He looked around. No one.

"Hello?"

A faint, muffled cry came back to him, "Troy?"

He felt his heart stop, "GABRIELLA!"

"TROY!"

He looked down. The stairway. Then he remembered from the clearing of the tunnels that morning. The stairway was narrower than the rest of the basement. The debris must have trapped them down there, but it wouldn't have filled the space if it didn't collapse in on itself.

Troy began ripping at the rocks. He hauled several large ones to the side. Then some began to slide farther down. Troy panicked. He realized if he didn't get this right, it could still fall in on them. He whipped out his cell phone. He called his dad.

When Jack answered, Troy was hysterical. "DAD SHE'S ALIVE! SHE'S DOWN THERE BUT I CAN'T GET TO HER! DAD! HELP! OH GOD, I CAN HEAR THEM!"

Jack bit his lip. Troy must have slipped out during the night and now he was being tormented by what his mind couldn't process yet. He very sadly said, "Where are you, Troy?"

"THE PRESCHOOL! DAD I CAN HEAR THEM, BUT THE ROCKS COULD STILL FALL IN ON HER. HELP ME PLEASE!"

Jack got up and put on his own pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He got his keys and went to pick up his tortured son.

* * *

Troy went down into the tunnels from the grate in the street. He found where it had collapse behind Sharpay. He started working there. He managed to get a small oval about 2 feet wide open at the top. He saw Gabriella as she got to the same space. He felt a relief that he couldn't put into words. His whole being eased just at the sight of her.

She had a small group of maybe ten kids with her. She reached her arm through and Troy had never in his life felt a touch more exquisite that hers at that moment. His tears burned his eyes again, but they were tears of relief from the worst pain imaginable. "Oh my God, Gabriella!" He reached for her through the hole. "Baby! Oh God! I thought—"

She cried. "I thought we were stuck. I heard everyone up there earlier and then we heard them leave, but no one heard us. We've been screaming all day."

He touched her face. "I barely heard you and its silent up there now. But, I'm here now, baby. I'm here. I'm going to get you out. My dad's coming. We're going to save you, all of you." He pulled out his phone as it rang. "Dad? I'm in the tunnel. I've got a hole. There's some kids in there with her!"

Jack felt his heart leap. Could it be true? He saw the grate set to the side where Troy had entered. As he entered the tunnel he saw his son covered in dust and dirt propped up on the top of the pile with two arms stretched out of a hole toward him. He opened his phone and called Lucille. Then he sent a mass text to the pack. Everyone would be here shortly. Then he went up and started trying to help Troy get the top boulders free and moved to the base of the pile.


	42. Hospitals

Someone Completely – Chapter 40 – Hospitals

A couple of hours later and several pack members found their hearts as they wrapped arms around ones they loved and had thought lost. The kids were safe. They'd all been taken to the hospital and checked out, but they'd been fairly unscathed.

Troy had his arms around Gabriella the second the children had been lifted out of the cavern. He'd lifted her and heard her whine and flinch. She shook her head and told him that she'd covered some kids when some debris fell and she was bruised by it.

Troy had lifted her gently and taken her up to the surface. He'd piled her into the back seat of his dad's car and held her as Lucille had driven them to the ER. He laid down next to her in the bed and held her to his chest. He made sure not to hurt her in any way.

The nurse had tried to get rid of him. She'd warning and yelled and then tried to physically remove him only to realize he had strength she could do nothing about. Finally, she'd told him that if he caused any trouble, she'd be back with tranquilizers and a security team. Then she left him there holding Gabriella and gone on about her shift.

Troy felt Gabriella snuggle her head against his shoulder. "Do you need anything, baby?"

She moaned softly. "No, I'm just hurting a little more. I think the pain meds are wearing off."

Troy looked around for the nurse call button. He found it and gently moved to press it. When the nurses' station answered he said, "She needs some pain meds."

The woman replied that her nurse would be in soon.

He wasn't happy with that response, but he stayed where he was when Gabriella had asked him to not leave her. She looked scared that she wouldn't see him again and truthfully, he felt the same fear when it settled in his mind. So, he simply laid there holding her and kissing her forehead and lips. "I love you, mate. I love you so much I can't possibly explain it. I love you so much."

She took in a deep breath that seemed to hurt and heal at the same time. "I love you too, baby."

Then the doctor came in. "OFF THE BED! NOW!"

Troy growled and the man stopped briefly then looked at him with a renewed sense of urgency. "She has internal bleeding, Alpha. I need to operate or we might lose her."

Troy looked down at her. He kissed her and got out of the bed gently, but quickly. "I love you, Gabriella."

She said, "I love you," even as they wheeled her away. Their eyes never separated until she was beyond the closed doors.

Jack came up to him in the hallway. "What's going on? Where are they taking her?" Before he could finish, Ed and Maria and Jason were all standing next to Jack and Lucille.

Troy felt his mind reeling. "Internal bleeding. Surgery."

Lucille let go of Jack and wrapped Troy in her arms again. She led him over to the couch in the waiting room area. He laid down and put his head in his mother's lap.

"It's been so up and down, mom. I woke up yesterday with her there with me feeling tense, but whole and somewhat happy. Then I thought she was hurt. Then there was hope when I saw Shar and then crushing pain at the stairs and at home. The elation at finding her this morning and now this…" He felt his mother running her fingers through his hair. "I can't lose her again, mom. I won't survive it."

Jack saw his son going through torture again. He sought out information. The only way to help Troy was to know what was going on and how serious. He found a nurse who was pack. "What's going on with Gabriella? I need to know, Anya."

She turned and looked at him, "She's got internal bleeding near her ribs. They did an x-ray on her earlier, but it doesn't show bleeding, just bones. She was tender, but they thought it was normal with broken ribs. They order an MRI and only just got the results back. We've been totally overwhelmed."

Jack nodded, "I'm not angry. I'm just worried. She's Troy's mate."

Anya stopped and looked at Jack very directly and with a stillness that acknowledged her understanding of that kind of pain. Anya was an older pack member. She'd lost her mate a few years prior. "As soon as I know more, I'll be sure he knows."

Jack nodded, "I think it is Casey who's doing the surgery. You should be able to get the information without too much trouble and I would very much appreciate it."

Anya nodded, "It is. I'll go check on what things look like and let you know what to expect."

Jack smiled softly. "Thank you."

She nodded and began walking back to the surgery suite on this floor.

* * *

Troy woke up with a start. There was someone leaning over him. He came up and stared hard. Once his mind registered that it was the sweet old nurse, Miss Anya, he relaxed. "What's the news?"

She smiled, "They're moving her to recovery now. Doc believes he got it all and that she will be just fine. They ended up putting in a Gortex graph to seal the vein that was perforated. She'll be awake in the next hour or so. You can go in and see her any time. No more than two people at a time for no more than 15 minutes, okay?"

He nodded, "Wait…can I just stay with her? I know it's against policy, but after—"

Anya shook her head, "Once she's back in her room you can. Until then adhere to the 15 minutes. She'll try to stay awake to be near you and she needs the rest. They literally just had her body opened up. She will heal faster than most, but she will still need the rest. I won't make you go home tonight or anything, though I think you should."

He shook his head, "No way. I can respect a few feet between us, but I'm not leaving this building until I'm taking her home to our bed. I've come too close to losing her too many times in the last 24 hours. I am wherever she is, period."

Anya gave him a gentle, wise-old-woman kind of smile. "She's going to be just fine, Alpha. You aren't going to lose your mate on my watch."

He softened his tone. "I know. Thank you, Anya. I really do appreciate your help this morning."

She nodded and turned, "Recovery is right there. You should be able to see her now, though she may not be awake."

He nodded and got up. He was in the room before anyone could argue with him. He walked across the room and took her hand in his. "Baby?" He stroked her hair back, "My sweet, sweet baby…" He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm going to be nervous until you open your eyes and talk to me, honey."

She groaned.

Troy looked down and realized she was trying to open her eyes already. He felt bad. "No, sweetie, just relax. I'm sorry. It's okay. You need your rest, honey. Just relax. Let yourself fade in and out naturally, sweetie."

She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out, but relaxed just the same.

* * *

Maria stood at the door and watched the young man she hated as he caressed her daughter's face. She wanted to smack his hand away, but he was looking at her with such love. It was frustrating because she blamed him for getting her hurt in the first place, but at the same time she respected that he refused to leave her side again. She'd heard the pain in his voice when he'd called the house to tell her that he'd found her and taken her to the hospital.

Now, as she watched him care for her, she wanted to be angry at him, but it was hard.

* * *

Eduardo could hardly be talked to since he'd arrived at the hospital. Jack had needed to go to his apartment and physically pry him up off the floor to get him there. Then once there, Ed had sat guard outside any door that contained his daughter. No one could get him to back off. He growled fiercely at everyone who came near enough.

Sitting there next to her mother, Ed could see Maria soften at the sight she was viewing. He was glad, because he'd seen Troy go in before her. He would wait for Maria to leave, because everyone was aware that Troy would not be leaving.

* * *

Troy whispered into her ear. "You're going to be fine. I love you. I won't leave you, baby. Just rest."

She squeezed his hand and let herself drift off. All she wanted was to be at home in bed with her mate. She wanted to purr into his chest and let someone else handle the troubles still awaiting them.


	43. Prospects

Someone Completely – Chapter 41 – Prospects

Three weeks later…

Troy moved around the kitchen. He'd gotten extremely adept at their cooking needs. His mother kept reminding him that part of being a good mate was knowing how to work as a team and that his improving skills in the kitchen was just one part of the necessary team work required to keep a household running. Troy just thought of it as taking care of his lover.

He walked up the stairs carefully with the tray in hand. He had coffee for each of them, scrambled eggs for himself and a waffle for her with strawberries and syrup on the side. He'd found pretty quickly that he could make a batch of waffle mix every couple of days and keep it in the fridge. While he was waiting for the waffle iron to do its thing, he would make scrambled eggs in the microwave for himself and have the coffee pot running simultaneously. The whole breakfast took him 14 minutes to make.

He balanced the tray on one hand as he opened the door to their room.

Gabriella was sitting up and waiting for the breakfast that she'd gotten entirely too accustomed to being served in their bed. She still hated that the doctors were suggesting a few more hours a day in bed than out of it, because every time Troy heard that, she was forced into bed every minute she wasn't in class.

Troy smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. He placed the tray and settled himself in further. He kissed her soft lips once and then rested his arm around her shoulders. He took a few bites of eggs before he turned on the tv. They had started watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report in the morning (recorded on the DVR from the night before). It was the only news that Troy could stand and for Gabriella it at least meant having some idea of what was happening in the world.

Troy was laughing at Stewart's latest attack on Fox News. Gabriella, however, was thinking. She stared off in space for a few moments. She'd thought nothing of it, but the quiet caught Troy's attention.

"What's wrong, honey?"

She shook her head, "I'm sorry, what?"

He smiled and chuckled, "I asked what's wrong."

She sighed, "Oh, I was just thinking about what that angel had told us in my hospital room. Something Stewart said clicked and I still wish I understood all that stuff he said better than I do."

Troy nodded and kissed her temple, "Try not to worry about it for now, baby. We'll deal with it when we need to, sweetheart."

Gabriella nodded and let Troy become engrossed in the Daily Show again. She let her own mind wander back to that conversation though as she ate her breakfast…

"_But, I don't understand. Why was your fight even in the human realm at all? Aren't you guys supposed to seriously powerful and invisible?"_

_The older angel looked over at Troy. "There are only two reasons for an angel to enter the human realm at all. First is for him or her to be assigned to a human, such as guardian angels. The other is for the angel to fall from Grace and land in the mortal realm. The demons we were fighting—"_

_Chad growled, "The 'other' angels."_

_The angel gracefully acknowledged the issue, "Yes, 'the other angels,' were here intentionally though."_

_Troy looked over at his father. Jack spoke up this time, "What were they looking for in our schools? Was it someone or something?"_

_The angel had the grace to look embarrassed as he said, "We really don't know the answer to that yet."_

_Jack nodded, "So, we should be very aware that other battles will be fought. We should accept that they will try again."_

_The older angel looked Jack in the eye. "Yes, I'm afraid so. Until we are capable of finding out what the demons were looking for we cannot guarantee that they won't come back."_

_Troy had run his hand through his hair. The motion caught the angel's attention and the angel smiled at him as he watched Troy grasp Gabriella's hand again. "The two of you are special."_

_Troy looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"_

_The angel smiled, "The two of you share a guardian angel. That only happens with the couple's that have been monumental throughout history."_

_Troy rolled his eyes, "Great."_

_The old angel gave the young alpha a wise-old-man kind of smile, "You'll see. None the less, I need to go back before I'm discovered here. I simply wanted to tell you that the angels are fixing your schools now. We felt terrible for the destruction we left behind. You should be ready to go on with your schooling on Monday morning."_

_Jack raised his eyebrows. "Wow, thank you. You've saved us a lot of trouble."_

_The angel seemed to appreciate Jack's gesture. "You're welcome."_

_Troy cleared his throat, "I have one more question."_

_The angel turned to him, "Yes."_

"_Why do you look so much different from the other angels, the demons?"_

_The angel nodded knowingly, "The longer an angel has been away from Grace and the healing powers of heaven the more he molts and loses his feathers until his wings become membranous and skin-like. When the healing affects of love are lost, so too are many of the other courses of nature; for angels that means the loss of beauty."_

_Troy nodded, "Alright."_

_The angel had nodded his head and turned, but before the angel had taken a step, he'd vanished._

Gabriella sighed at the memory again. This wasn't over. She looked over at Troy. Regardless of their future prospects, she couldn't believe how lucky she felt to have the healing aspects of their love on her side.

* * *

**Alright. So, here's where Someone Completely ends...**

**I have further ideas with this cast of characters. In fact, what you've read is equivalent to the first novel of a trilogy. BTW, congratulations, this story is the same length as a novel and you've finished reading it! But, I digress. **

**My question really is...does anyone actually want more? I hate when people do sequels that no one wants to read. So, I'm asking the readers. What's your preference?**

**Thank you for reading! I really love that there are some out there who can enjoy my writing! I can't say thank you enough to all of you who were kind enough to post and let me know what you thought along the way! Thank you again.**

**-Bridgie  
**


	44. Completing Someone

**Okay the majority seems to say more either if I want to write it or just more, more, more. So, here we go. I'll start it separately in a few minutes.  
**

**Book 2 - Completing Someone - The continuing tales of a Werewolf and a Werecat**

* * *

Completing Someone – The continuing tales of a Werewolf and a Werecat

Troy turned over in his sleep. He stretched an arm out to tuck Gabriella in closer to his body. His unconscious mind didn't register where he was. However, when his arms remained empty, his eyes opened and he looked around him. He was in a strange room and he was cold. His body ached fiercely and his head was pounding. To make matters worse, Troy was sure he was going to vomit. He leaned over the edge of the bed and saw his blue jeans and shoes scattered amongst his shirt and boxer briefs. He quickly looked under the sheet over his body and wondered where he was and why Gabriella wasn't within an arm's reach of him while he was naked. All his mind could produce in this kind of pain were broken thoughts. _What happened? Where am—Gabriella will kill—Oh my God, what did I do?_

* * *

Gabriella was working on her chemistry while she waited for Troy after class. There were a few girls who were giggling and looking over at her when they thought she wasn't looking. She felt her stomach turn. Troy hadn't called last night like he always did. She'd been so worried about him when she'd left for class. Now, in retrospect, maybe she should have been worried about herself.

She saw the girls giggle again. She recognized a few of them from when she would meet Troy at the gym after practice. They were cheerleaders. If she remembered correctly, the curly haired red head was always flirting with Troy and the blonde was the girl who liked to touch him whenever she could, any conversation, any place, any part of his body she could get to.

Gabriella felt her stomach turn. Troy wouldn't cheat on her. What they had was real. What they had was beyond anything any cheerleader could possibly understand. Gabriella turned back to her work. She hated this campus. She found herself once again wishing she could get Troy into Stanford with her. It was one thing to live in separate dorms. It was another thing for a mated pair to live in dorms that were forty minutes apart on separate campuses.


End file.
